Las Vegas police are investigating a suspicious death at a residence located in the 3200 block of Dawnflower Street, which is near East Desert Inn Road and South Pecos Road.
Detectives say the victim is a female adult and they're not sure how long she's been deceased. @KTNV pic.twitter.com/Sr7zd1llaX
— Michael Burton (@MikeBurtonKTNV) July 20, 2016
The death was reported at 11:36 a.m.
Police say the victim is an elderly woman who lived alone. She was nearly 70 years old.
"Heartbroken, I'm just very heartbroken," said a neighbor.
The victim was a retired musician and a mom, according to friends.
Police say it was a cleaning company that discovered the woman's body this morning in her bedroom. She had an appointment set up.
When homicide detectives got to the scene, they saw the condition of her body and knew without a doubt that she had been murdered. They also say the home was ransacked, but there is no sign of forced entry. Neighbors say they saw the woman on Tuesday, as she was running some errands.
The exact cause of death can't be confirmed.
Police say her spending records show she was out and about running errands Tuesday afternoon. She was killed sometime between then and 10 a.m. Wednesday morning.
Lt. Dan McGrath didn't reveal details about the condition of the woman's body out of respect for her family.
"I don't want to tell you specifically because obviously she has family members and they are the way from another state," said McGrath. "I'll just tell you there are some obvious signs that she is a victim of a homicide."
McGrath considers this a high priority investigation because of its nature.
"Somebody in their own home," said McGrath. "Just think of your own family. Somebody's killed in your own home. That is priority from the sheriff on down. Let me tell you. There will be extensive manpower put on this."
Police say the suspect may have entered the house through a sliding door.
"She had a slider and it may have been unlocked," said McGrath. "Sometimes people are trusting because they live some place for a long time and they don't lock the slider."
