ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — An Alexandria woman was found dead on the Fourth of July and there are still many questions about who killed her.
On Friday morning, a family member found 43-year-old Asabech Abayneh inside her apartment in the 5600 block of Derby Court. ABC7 reports she was a local chef and a religious woman.
There were no signs of trauma and no evidence of a break-in. However Alexandria Police say an autopsy determined her death was a homicide – marking the third homicide the city has investigated this year.
A string of unsolved murders has left the community on edge, most recently the fatal shooting of music teacher Ruthanne Lodato, who was killed in February. Abayneh’s apartment is about 3.5 miles from where Lodato lived.
Police are investigating whether former Alexandria resident Charles Severance is connected to Lodato’s murder and two other killings. But he has not been charged in those cases. He is being held in Loudoun County on an unrelated weapons charge.
Anyone with information about Abayneh’s death or her movements during the past few weeks is asked to contact Detective Loren King at 703-746-6689.
Follow @WTOP on Twitter and on the WTOP Facebook page.
