LOWER EAST SIDE, Manhattan (WABC) — Police are investigating the death of a 76-year-old woman who was found unconscious and unresponsive in her Manhattan apartment on Friday evening.
Authorities responded to a 911 call just before 8 p.m. at 18 Monroe Street on the Lower East Side. Upon arrival, officers discovered the woman with trauma to her head and body.
Emergency Medical Services pronounced the victim, Zhu Hou, dead at the scene.
Uncertainty is eating away at residents with every hour that passes — especially the elders.
“Whoever did this saw that she was old, maybe not able to move around like a younger person and saw the opportunity,” said Anna Abbate, “It’s awful, we’re living in an awful time.”
A neighbor who did not want to be identified told Eyewitness News she heard intense fighting inside the apartment the night before the woman’s body was found.
Neighbors who live at the Knickerbocker Village complex, which is under 24/7 video surveillance, expressed concerned following the woman’s death.
“This is gated, and people don’t just come in and out,” said Daphne Ramirez, a resident of the building. “So that means someone had to have the ability to get in, and you have to buzz the buzzer and then you have to be let in.”
Residents will not rest until justice is served for the 76-year-old.
The Officer of the Chief Medical Examiner has deemed the incident to be a homicide.
No arrests have been made, and the investigation remains ongoing.
The NYPD is urging anyone with information about the incident to contact the 5th Precinct as they investigate the circumstances surrounding the woman’s death.
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