Woman who died after tumbling down stairs had bruises on her neck, police say

ByEyewitness News WABC logo
Thursday, December 28, 2017
Woman who died after tumbling down stairs had bruises on her neck, police say
Josh Einiger has the latest on a 22-year-old victim who was was discovered unconscious and unresponsive in her Brooklyn home.

CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn (WABC) -- Investigators said the death of a woman whose body was found at the bottom of a basement staircase in her Brooklyn home Wednesday appears to be a domestic homicide, and detectives are focusing on her husband.

Tonie Wells, 22, was found unconscious and unresponsive just before 10 a.m. in the basement of the home she shared with her husband and her toddler daughter on Sterling Place in the Crown Heights section.

NYPD officials said Wells suffered trauma to her body, specifically bruising on her neck. This is what led detectives to to believe she was either pushed or fell down the flight of stairs.

Paramedics pronounced Wells dead at the scene. The medical examiner is working to determine the cause of the death.

The case is preliminary being treated as a domestic incident. Her young child was also found in the house.

No arrests have been made in the case.

"I would like to mention that we do have a person of interest that we are currently looking to speak with," NYPD Deputy Chief Michael Kemper said. "I am not going to release his name at this point, but as I am speaking to you, investigators are looking for him."

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