By: Melissa Toupin
mtoupin@abc6.com
Updated:
Investigators comb through an East Providence home. They are looking for clues after the body of a 50-year-old woman was discovered in her first floor apartment. Her death is now being investigated as a murder.
"I thought maybe something, or someone got hurt," said Paula DaPonte who lives in the quiet Metacomet Avenue neighborhood. She was home as investigators responded to the address around 6:30 Friday night. "I never thought someone got killed."
Police aren't releasing the victim's name, pending the notification of family members, but neighbors identify the woman as Michelle "Mimi" Busby (Simeone). They say she was a quiet woman, who mostly kept to herself.
"She had sons that I knew of, grand children, so it's sad to hear," said Kayla DePonte who lives down the street.
Investigators discovered her body inside the apartment after friends and family reported they hadn't heard from the woman for over 48 hours.
Police say they had been to the home in the past, but never for anything like this.
"When we responded we did find the female," said Lt. Michael David of the East Providence Police Department. "She was deceased. We're conducting a homicide investigation at this time."
It's unclear how long the victim's body was in the apartment. Police and the Rhode Island Medical Examiner are investigating the time and cause of death.
Lt. David said police deemed the death suspicious based on the nature of the woman's injuries and her age.
Police say the incident is not believed to be a random act. A ‘person of interest' has been identified. Police are attempting to locate and speak to him.
ABC6 has also learned that the victim's white Jeep is also missing from the residence.
Those who knew the woman say they just want answers.
"I grew up with Mimi," said friend Everett Smith. "I hope they find out what happened to her."
