Florida Firefighters Find Man's Body in Burned Car

Miami-Dade firefighters extinguished a blazing car in a church parking lot Friday morning, then found a charred male body inside.

Fire rescue initially thought an early morning blaze was attacking the Greater Miami Church of God, 1695 Opa-locka Blvd., but the flames were engulfing a 2005 Pontiac Grand Am parked behind a classroom building adjacent to the church, said Joey Giordano, a Miami-Dade police spokesman.

Inside the car was a male body, completely charred and unidentified. There were no obvious signs of gunshot or stab wounds, but investigators are handling the case as a homicide, Giordano said.

''We do suspect foul play and our investigators are handling it as such,'' he said.

The church's pastor, Neville Wilson, said he didn't recognize the Pontiac.

A chain-linked fence surrounds the property, but a gate opening to the church parking lot doesn't close because of a broken wheel, Wilson said.

''If it the body was dumped here, it was a crime of opportunity,'' Wilson said. ``The fact of leaving the body here -- it's a place of worship -- but it doesn't isolate us.''