Woman Found Dead With Neck Slashed In UWS Building
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police say a 70-year-old woman was found dead inside her Upper West Side apartment during a wellness check on Sunday morning.
NYPD crime scene investigators were seen going in and out of the building at 710 West End Ave., near 95th Street all day, CBS2's Reena Roy reported.
According to Susan Trott's website, she was a longtime copywriter, advertiser and creative consultant for major corporations, saying she divided her time between New York and London. When she didn't show up for work her co-worker called police, who found her lifeless body in her bedroom.
"It's very disturbing. We don't know all of the facts yet," UWS resident Terence Hanrahan said.
Just before 5 a.m. police discovered a trail of blood inside Trott's apartment. That led officers from the living room to her bedroom, where they found her dead with a slashed neck, the spattered blood indicating a struggle.
"It's a very family-friendly neighborhood. I'm surprised to hear this has happened ... kind of in shock., actually ... scared," UWS resident Cara Gorman said.
The building does have doormen 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Sources told CBS2 there were no signs of forced entry, and the apartment wasn't ransacked.
"A 70-year-old woman found with her throat cut? That's horrible," Hanrahan said.
Neighbors said Trott loved dogs and gardening outside the building.
"She was like in charge of the gardening. I helped her with that and she was very adamant that we had to use certain colors, like purple and yellow," Helen Stein said. "I wouldn't say she was an easy person, but I was totally unaware that she had an enemies or anything like that."
"I'm shocked, very shocked. It's very sad," neighbor Amy Apicella said. "She was very nice. She was a good neighbor to have. We'd see her around all the time throwing bird seed for the birds. She loved my dog, so she'd always come around and pet my dog."
Police are still searching for the suspect and trying to develop a motive. The building does have surveillance cameras so investigators will undoubtedly be using them to help catch Trott's killer.