An investigation is continuing into how a missing woman's body was left in a donation bin for months.
Lesley Lemoine, 47, from Kershaw County, South Carolina, US, was found in a bin behind the Camden West Inn hotel on New Year's Eve.
The mum-of-one had been reported missing since March with their daughter, Hannah Gates, even travelling to the nearby hotel just months before she was discovered.
Hannah said the discovery has given the family closure but they are demanding answers.
She said: “I feel like we’re getting some closure that we’ve needed for nine months, and it’s hard, but we’re all processing it in our own ways, but it’s still a journey to get justice for her."
Police believe the body of Lesley was most likely dumped in the donation bin.
Lee Boan, Kershaw County Sheriff, said: “We’re assuming that the location we found her in was just where her body was dumped at. So, it’s a dump location. Not necessarily the location of where she passed away at."
After being able to identify the victim authorities now believe they can press forward with their investigation.
Sheriff Boan added: “We’ll start tracking from there and figure out what happened to her and who put her in the clothes bin.”
Initially, there were concerns it could take up to six months to reveal the mum's ID but coroner David West said a tattoo on Lesley's calf, which was recognised by her daughter, brought the case forward.
However, the condition in which the body was found in the donation bin will make it difficult to uncover how the mum died, police believe.
Mr West said: "We go next to toxicology. Try to pull some kind of tissue and stuff like that. They were lucky enough to pull some of that.
“So, we go in there try and pull something from there, and that will be sent off for testing."
The tests will show if Lesley had any type of drugs in her system when she died.
In addition, they will send her bones to an anthropologist to look for any signs of trauma.
Hannah admitted she prepared what she was going to say to her mum when she returned home.
She said: "I played the conversation so many times in my mind. At first, I thought I’d still be mad.
"First, I was yelling, you know, where have you been? Why did you just leave, and as time went it just got to the point where I just wanted to hug her and tell her that I forgive her.”
Hannah revealed her family are also trying to gain legal custody of Lesley's 10-year-old daughter, Haven.
Authorities confirmed they are looking into CCTV footage from the area as part of their investigation.
