Mother Of 2 Found Dead In Northeast Philadelphia Park
By Steve Beck, Steve Patterson, Diana Rocco
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Police are investigating the discovery of a 46-year-old female's body near a park in Northeast Philadelphia Tuesday morning.
The body was found at about 6 a.m. in a park at Holme and Convent Avenues.
The victim has been identified by police as Connie McClain-Murray.
Police say around 9 p.m. Monday night, McClain-Murray went for a jog. Her family called police around midnight when she did not return. Six hours later, her body was discovered in shallow brush off in the woods of Pennypack Park.
"I'm back here all the time, I know this area really well and it's just really sad that something like this happened here," Paul Schlear said.
Schlear stumbled upon the scene as police arrived. He looks after the Holme-Crispin cemetery next to where the discovery was made by a friend of his walking her dog in the park.
"Someone very sick and deranged had to do something like that. I just hope they catch them," Schlear said.
Captain James Clark says, "Right now the death is being ruled as suspicious for a lot of different reasons, but I can't say anything else until we have a definitive answer."
Sources tell Eyewitness News the woman may have been strangled. There were signs of a struggle and police are investigating.
"People should use extra caution. Women out there walking or jogging should have someone else with them for protection, just until we find out what went on," Clark said.
Homicide detectives are part of the investigation.
Friends flooded the victim's Facebook page with sympathy and outrage. Off-camera, distraught friends say she's the nicest woman they've ever known.
"It's really close to home. We are raising our kids here, you know, so it's just a little bit frightening," neighbor Jessica Nigro said.
McClain-Murray was a wife and a mother of two daughters.
Police are awaiting an official Medical Examiner's report to determine a cause of death.
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