Second arrest made in case of burned body found in St. Petersburg alley

A second woman has been arrested in connection with the case of a burned body found in a St. Petersburg alley last month.

Julie Heltman Curran, 64, was arrested Thursday afternoon on a charge of abuse of a dead body. Her daughter, 30-year-old Cree Worley, was arrested Tuesday night. As of Friday afternoon, Curran was being held at the Pinellas County Jail on $10,000 bail, while Worley was being held on $20,513 bail.

According to Curran’s arrest affidavit, police found the “severely burned” body of 31-year-old Heather Olmstead in a trash container on Aug. 17. A cell phone belonging to a man was found near the body. Video surveillance showed the man’s black GMC and Curran’s white Ford pickup truck being driven to a St. Petersburg home 16 minutes before Olmstead’s body was burned in an alley.

The man who lived at the home told police that Curran and Worley had come to his home to buy crack cocaine and that he placed a gas can in the bed of the black GMC truck, which was also captured on video surveillance.

Other video footage shows the GMC and the Ford truck being driven east on Fairfield Avenue South toward 2920 Emerson Ave. S, where Olmstead’s body was found, two minutes before the fire was set. Curran’s Ford is shown driving from the burning trash can on video surveillance, police said.

The Tampa Bay Times is not naming the GMC owner or the man living at the house because records don’t indicate that they’ve been arrested or charged in the case.

According to county records, Olmstead had lived in both Clearwater and Gulfport.

St. Petersburg Police spokesperson Yolanda Fernandez said police are awaiting a complete report from the Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner’s Office to determine the cause of Olmstead’s death. The investigation is ongoing.

To report tips about the case, contact St. Petersburg police detectives by calling 727-893-7780 or texting SPPD + your tip to TIP411.