PERRY -- Deborah Boyd was trying to get her life back on track in the days before her burned body was found Dec. 28.
She had been seeing a case manager through St. Anne's Center to apply for benefits after being homeless for several years.
This recent reach for help made the news more surprising to staff at the center when she was identified by Perry Police Chief Mike Jones as the woman who police believe doused herself with a flammable liquid, then lit herself on fire Dec. 28.
"She doesn't strike me as an individual who would do something like that," said Jennifer Canter, executive director for St. Anne's Center.
Jones said Boyd, 45, was identified Monday afternoon using dental records. He said Boyd was from Barstow, Calif., and had been traveling to nearby states since 2007, including Washington and Utah.
"She never left anybody with any indicators of where she was going," he said. "There was actually a missing persons report filled out by the family."
Boyd's body was found by a Utah Highway Patrol trooper responding to a report of a fire near a railroad overpass on 1100 South. Police say they believe the woman's death was a suicide and have no reason to believe it was accidental.
An autopsy performed last week showed smoke in Boyd's lungs, indicating she was alive when the fire started.
Canter said Boyd was a regular at St. Anne's and had stayed off and on since 2008.
"She came all the time for services," she said. "She stayed a long time, and stayed over the holidays."
Canter said she has a hard time believing Boyd would hurt herself. She said it didn't make sense that she was seeking help and then committed suicide.
"You can stay here and sleep on the floor and never receive our services," Canter said. "She wanted help. She wanted our services."
Canter described Boyd as a "frequent flyer," who stayed at the shelter the night before her body was found in Perry. She was a person who interacted with staff and other residents of the center, but mostly kept to herself.
"She was kind of a loner," Canter said. "She never really hung out with anybody."
Jones said officials are waiting for other test results that may give more clues to Boyd's death.
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