Police Find Car Of Elderly Woman Murdered In Needham Home

NEEDHAM (CBS) – Police have found the car belonging to an elderly Needham woman who was found murdered in her home overnight.

Detectives were searching for 81-year-old Laura Shifrina's red 2011 Ford Fiesta hours after her body was found in her apartment. The car was located with a Boston parking ticket on the windshield and brought to the Needham Police Station Thursday afternoon.

Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey's office said police aren't yet disclosing where or how they found the car.

Officers went to Shifrina's apartment on Linden Street around 11 p.m. Wednesday after getting a call from her daughter, who was doing a well-being check. She hadn't heard from her mother in a couple of days, according to Morrissey.

When the daughter went inside she found Shifrina dead from "sharp trauma," Morrissey said. The body had been there for a few days.

Officers sealed off the area, which is part of the Needham Housing Authority, with crime scene tape.

Needham and State Police detectives spoke to residents and gathered evidence throughout the night.

"It's a little nerve racking. It's unusual for something like this to happen in Needham. When I asked the police officer who was walking by he said just stay inside and keep your doors locked, which I did," resident Jessica Riley told WBZ-TV.

The Needham Housing Authority is a low-income complex for the elderly and disabled. Shifrina lived there more than 15 years and was currently living alone, Morrissey said.

Russian friends in her science club became concerned when she missed their weekly meeting. Alexsandr Yufa tells WBZ she was once a highly respected and talented aviation engineer and he cannot remember her having an enemy.

"I can't imagine how brutal could be those killers," Yufa said. "Gorgeous woman. Intelligent, smart. Excellent friend. It's a great loss for all of us."

Residents said Shifrina kept mostly to herself because she only spoke Russian.

"It's unfortunate I didn't know the lady personally, but it's sad to see that something like this could happen so close to home," Riley said.

"I think I'm going to stay with a friend tonight. I live two doors down from this woman," another resident told WBZ-TV.

The complex is across the street from the High Rock Middle School.  Police said there is no "elevated danger in the area or reason for undue concern," but there were extra patrols there as a precaution Thursday.

Morrissey said there hasn't been a homicide in Needham for more than 10 years.

No other information is available at this point in the investigation.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Ben Parker reports