37-year-old Bjana James found dead with throat slashed inside Bronx NYCHA apartment
NEW YORK -- Police are investigating after officers found a woman dead with her throat slashed inside an apartment in the Bronx.
Distraught family members sobbed outside the Bronx apartment building where 37-year-old Bjana James was murdered inside her home.
A neighbor watching from her window knew James and observed her loved ones placing candles outside the Betances Houses on East 147th Street in the Mott Haven section, which became a crime scene early Saturday.
"They need to catch the person who did it," the neighbor said.
James is survived by a 12-year-old son and 8-year-old daughter.
"Now those kids don't have a mother," neighbor Maryam Aifa told CBS2's Dave Carlin.
The children were staying with their grandmother when the murder happened.
Family members say James worked at Empire City Casino in Yonkers and that the last time friends heard from her was on Wednesday.
Relatives who declined to go on camera told CBS2 the last contact they had was when James texted a friend saying she was scared of a man she was living with. The man is described by the family as a boyfriend and they don't know where he is.
James' mother went to the apartment to do a welfare check but did not get inside. Then one of James' siblings showed up, got inside and found the body.
Police say James' throat was slashed and investigators recovered a knife.
"It's heartbreaking for something like that to happen," building superintendent Vishanand Persaud said. "She's a humble person, a mom, always says hi to everybody when she comes out."
He said many around here will not be able to rest until police catch the killer.