Police: Woman Found Dead in Pennypack Park Was Strangled
[UPDATE 3:33 p.m.] At a press conference this afternoon, Captain James Clark of the Philadelphia Police homicide unit announced that, as per the just-completed autopsy, the death of Connie McClain-Murray, the 46-year-old woman found dead on Tuesday morning in Pennypack Park, has been ruled a strangulation. There was no sign of sexual assault, said Clark.
Police currently have no suspects, said Clark, but will be investigating surveillance footage from the area in an attempt to find McClain-Murray’s murderer.
Clark said she went for a run on Monday night with a cell phone and headphones that were not with her when she was found. Clark advised that women running at night should not do so alone.
[ORIGINAL 9:53 a.m.]
A woman who was found dead in a Northeast Philadelphia park on Tuesday may have been strangled to death, police said. The victim, Connie McClain-Murray, was found Tuesday morning in Pennypack Park near the Crispin Rec Center. She was wearing a sports bra and shorts, and police believe she was out for a walk at the time of her death.
“If anyone saw her jogging, or if anyone knows anything, heard anything, they should give us a call,” Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey told reporters. Police say there were signs of a struggle.
Cops say McClain-Murray, 46 and a mother of two, went out for a walk at 9 p.m. Monday night but did not return. The family filed a missing persons report around 2 a.m. Tuesday morning. A woman walking her dog after 6 a.m. found her body in the park a few hours later. A report from the medical examiner that could provide more information about her death is expected today.