74-Year-Old Woman Found Dead Inside East Harlem Apartment
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The NYPD is awaiting the results of an autopsy of a 74-year-old woman who was found naked and unconscious in her East Harlem apartment Thursday evening.
Longtime resident Juana Garcia was found on the couch inside her seventh-floor apartment at the Wilson Houses at 435 E. 105 St. around 7:30 p.m., CBS2's Steve Langford reported.
Garcia was pronounced dead at the scene.
The autopsy report from the medical examiner's office will be key to the investigation. Police believe the death may have been accidental, but are not ruling out foul play, 1010 WINS' Glenn Schuck reported.
Garcia had a cut on her forehead that seemed new, Schuck reported.
There were no signs of forced entry, but family members claim there was property missing, Schuck reported.
Neighbors were alarmed that a senior living on her own would die under such mysterious circumstances.
"I think in this building everything getting so bad, there's not much protection," neighbor Eva Cartagena told Langford.
"She's a very pleasant woman, and it's sad to see something happen to her," another neighbor added.
Garcia's friends at a nearby senior center were grieving and suspicious.
"In a way, yes, I think somebody got her because she used to talk she had money and everything," friend Janet Rivera said.
It was possible the results from the autopsy would be available later Friday, Langford reported.