A Connecticut woman found dead in a cemetery over the weekend was publicly identified Monday by authorities.
New Haven police identified the woman as Naysha Mendez, a 35-year-old resident of the city, the Connecticut Post reported. Mendez’s body was located around 7:30 p.m. Friday in Evergreen Cemetery.
Investigators said Mendez suffered numerous wounds, indicating that her death was a homicide, according to local NBC affiliate WVIT. Police did not describe the nature of her wounds.
Mendez was found near the center of the cemetery by a man who routinely walks his dog in the area, police said. Cops are unsure if she was killed in the cemetery or murdered elsewhere and dropped at the location.
Authorities also stressed that Mendez’s death was not related to any serial killer, attempting to dispel rumors that have spread online.
“This is definitely not the work of a serial killer,” New Haven Police Chief Karl Jacobson said Monday, according to the CT Post. Mayor Justin Elicker stressed it was “quite clear that she was targeted and it’s not connected to another incident.”
However, no suspects in the case have been arrested or publicly identified.
The serial killer fears were possibly stoked by the fact that remains of another woman, Suzanne Wormser, were found in another Connecticut cemetery in Groton earlier this year. However, cops had already arrested and charged a suspect in Wormser’s death by the time Mendez was killed.
