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Autopsy report for murder victim rules cause of death undetermined

The medical examiner ruled the cause of death for Saffire Armenta could be covered up by the severe burns found on the body.

MIDLAND COUNTY, Texas — (Editor's note: While most of the details of the autopsy report have been omitted from this article, some details may still be too graphic for some people. Reader discretion is advised.)

The autopsy report for Saffire Armenta, the woman whose burned body was found in Midland County on Nov. 2, 2021, has been released.

Armenta, 25, was found in a vacant field wrapped in fabric after being set on fire. 

The body was so badly burned it took a week to identify her body. According to the autopsy report, she was identified by the FBI using her fingerprints.

In the autopsy, Armenta's body is listed as nearly completely burned with the exceptions of her feet and small portions of her back.

While most of the report focuses on the severity of the charring of her body and the thermal injuries caused by the fire, the examiner does note the lack of soot in her airways.

Following this analysis, the medical examiner concluded that Armenta's manner of death could not be determined. 

Since the fire covered 97% of her body, the examiner stated she could not entirely exclude other injuries since things like strangulation marks could have been obscured by any burns that happened after her death.

Sergio Cerna has been charged with capital murder in relation to Armenta's death. 

When he was served the warrant by MCSO, he was in custody for unrelated charges in Reeves County. He has since been extradited to Midland County, where his bond sits at $1,000,000.

Officers found multiple threatening texts from Cerna and Armenta. Cerna also failed a lie detector test.

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