Police have launched a murder investigation after the body of a teenage student was found dumped in an open grave at a cemetery yesterday morning.

Melissa K Rodriguez, 19, a student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, was found dead at the Graceland Park Cemetery in Omaha, Nebraska, by a worker making preparations to bury a man who had been shot dead.

Detectives have not confirmed how she died or whether she was killed at the scene, but did say they are treating the death as homicide.

Murder investigation: The body of Melissa K Rodriguez was found in an open grave in a cemetery in Omaha, Arkansas, yesterday morning

The grave had been dug the day before for 28-year-old Kevin F McIntyre who was shot dead earlier this month.

Police have said that the two cases are not connected.

The cemetery is just six blocks from where Ms Rodriguez lived.

The funeral was postponed and police blocked off entrance to the cemetery while they searched around the grave for clues.

The body was moved six hours after it was found at around 10am local time.

Ms Rodriguez had been a varsity softball player and performed with a dance troupe at South High School in the city.

Hunt for clues: Police collect evidence after Ms Rodriguez’s body was found in the open grave yesterday morning

The school’s principal, Cara Riggs, said she was devastated by the loss of a ‘lovely’ former student.

She said: ‘We’re just kind of reeling right now, she was just lovely.’

Ms Rodriguez is the sixth person to be murdered in Omaha this month.

Kevin F McIntyre was shot on August 4 along with his twin brother who survived the incident.

No charges were brought against the shooter after prosecutors deemed the killing ‘justifiable’.

Read more: Daily Mail