Police view woman's death as suspicious

Gallup police officers investigate a house at 909 1/2 E. Aztec Ave. Friday where the body of an unidentified woman was found. Paramedics where called to the house just after noon to check on the woman and found her dead. [Photo by John A. Bowersmith/Independent]

Independent Staff

GALLUP — Gallup detectives are investigating the suspicious death of a woman who was found dead inside an east Aztec residence on Friday afternoon.

Police released little information about their investigation that spanned well into the evening hours on Friday.

However, Erin Toadlena-Pablo, a spokeswoman for the Gallup Police Department, said someone called police about 1 p.m. after the person discovered a Native American woman dead inside a residence at 909 1/2 E. Aztec Ave. She released little else about the caller or the manner in which the woman died.

However, police are calling the woman's death "suspicious." Officers blocked off portions of Aztec Avenue and Ford Street with yellow police tape, while officials from the district attorney's office and the Office of the Medical Examiner arrived on scene.

Toadlena-Pablo said detectives were waiting to enter the residence until they obtained a warrant to search the area.

Police did not immediately release any information about the woman's identity. Attempts to contact Toadlena-Pablo late Friday for an update on the case were not successful.