Saint John police continue to investigate suspicious death

UPDATE (Jul. 19): The Saint John Police Force confirmed Tuesday that this case has been ruled a homicide. Click here for the latest details.

A heavy police presence remained at a residence on the east side of Saint John Monday morning, the scene of what police call a suspicious death.

Police responded to a Melrose Street address shortly before 6:30 a.m. Sunday after a tenant found a woman unresponsive in the backyard. Police said the tenant identified the 44-year-old woman as also living in the building which has a number of apartments.

The woman was taken to hospital where she was pronounced dead. A cause of death has not been released but an autopsy is scheduled to be conducted today.

Residents in the area describe it as fairly quiet. The home in question sits directly across the street from the parking lot of a Roman Catholic church. Melrose Street resident Rose Lara said she has heard raised voices from that house in the past.

“It’s really loud,” Lara said. “It’s coming from that house but we don’t know if, we didn’t know if that was the same couple, the same people arguing.”

Resident Jeannette Moore lives just two houses away. She said she has lived in her current home for about ten years and describes the neighbourhood as quiet but also acknowledged a police presence around the residence in question in the past. Moore said it’s an unsettling situation.

“Scared because I’m here by myself all day because my husband works,” she said.

The New Brunswick SPCA was also  in the area. One officer told Global News they were there to remove cats from the apartment so police could continue their investigation unimpeded.

Police have not released the name of the woman.