ST. MARY PARISH, La. (KLFY) When two hunters discovered human remains in a wooded area near Franklin in January, investigators used DNA to identify the person.

This week they were able to identify the person as 39-year-old Casey Marie Collins from the Lafayette area.

Collins’ sisters says they reported her missing in December, a month before her remains were found.

Her stepbrother says he knew St. Mary Parish officials had found human remains but never imagined it would turn out to be his sister.

“For years being part of the family and even calling her sister, her calling me brother, even though we weren’t blood related, and then finding out that all of a sudden, their remains have been found in the woods. It’s shocking,” Collins’ stepbrother, CJ Vercher, said.

It was January 8 when two hunters came across her remains in the woods. For two months, Vercher had no idea his stepsister was dead.

“When you live with someone, you don’t always agree with how they live their life, but you love that person. She wasn’t a terrible person. She made bad decisions. We all do, but it’s very shocking,” he added.

He says Collins was troubled but couldn’t think of anyone who wanted to kill her. Though now, he believes that’s what happened.

“Whenever somebody’s remains are found in the woods, that’s obviously your first thought,” he said. “I’ve never known Casey to be an outdoorsy person. Honestly, I think yes, something either happened to her there or something happened to her and she was put there.”

His biggest questions now are who killed Collins and why.

“Of course the main one is, ‘Who did this to her?’ I don’t think she did this to herself. It’s more of a question of how this happened to her and what lead to this and who did this,” Vercher told News Ten.

The St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office says they believe Collins died from blunt force trauma.

They are investigating her death as a homicide.