Autopsy underway in 'suspicious' Kensington death

KENSINGTON - December 16, 2010

UPDATE: Woman found dead in Kensington lot was strangled</b>

The body was discovered in a heavily wooded and brush filled lot between the 100 block of East Tusculum Street and SEPTA railroad tracks on Wednesday evening.

At about 5:05 p.m. Wednesday, police received a 911 call from a pay phone concerning an unconscious female not too far from where police found the body, according to Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey.

The victim, described as a white female in her 20's, was found nude from the waist down. Action News has learned the woman had marks on her neck consistent with being strangled.

Her identity has not been released.

Police say the area is known for drug users to go to inject themselves.

"We don't know if she was walked back there or not, whether or not she went there to use drugs, whether or not this is part of a pattern," Ramsey said.

The manner of death is not yet known.

Commissioner Charles Ramsey does deem this a suspicious death.

"Any death of suspicious nature in this area, we're going to take a real hard look to see whether or not it's a part of the pattern that's going on out here," Ramsey said.

While a special task force is trying to determine if there's a link between this death and the 'Kensington Strangler,' that person is now believed to have killed two women, with three other women surviving similar attacks.

Only last week, police released surveillance video of the man involved in the latest attack on December 6th. The suspect is described as a black male about 5'7" with a distinctive walk, long sideburns, a hoodie and an iPod. The man is described by his victims as soft spoken and one victim said the man told her his name was 'Anthony.'

So far all of the victims have been young white women, all of the attacks happened within a 2-mile radius in the Kensington section, and all of them occurred in the shadow of the building that houses the police Special Victims Unit.

Police continue to urge women to take precautions to stay safe and if anyone sees something suspicious to call 911.

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