Burned Body Found In SUV Identified As Brooklyn Rapper

The man whose body was found burned inside the back of a Sport Utility Vehicle at Village Circle West in Paramus has been identified as 33-year-old Brooklyn resident Rhian H. Stoute, authorities said Tuesday night.

Stoute, known as Kampane, was a rapper who toured with Roc-a-Fella in 2000, according to his online bio.

The case is being treated as a homicide, Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said in a statement released late Tuesday afternoon. An early-model black Chevy Tahoe with New York plates was discovered early Tuesday morning with Stoute's burned body in the rear cargo area, Molinelli said.

Molinelli said investigators do not believe the death occurred on the Paramus street where the body was found.

"At this time we have no information as to the nature and location of where the death occurred," he said in the statement.

Medical examiners are currently performing an autopsy, with results pending. The body, according to Molinelli, has been burned "in several locations" which had initially delayed identification of the victim.

The Paramus Police Department is jointly handling the investigation.

Residents on the tree-lined Village Circle West Tuesday evening said that they were shocked to hear that a body was found in their normally quiet neighborhood. Many asked to remain unnamed for safety reasons. 

 “I’ve lived here for 35 years and have never had any trouble here, this is a great block,” a resident said. 

 Another resident said she hoped the commotion on her street is over: "It was scary, and I hope I don't see it again."

 A third resident, who noticed the abandoned car on his street around 9 a.m., said the police arrived at the scene and an area of the street was taped off.

 “Unfortunately, these things happen in the world," he said. "Somebody probably just picked the street to drop the car off.”