This story was reported by Rajvi Desai. It was written by Nicole Brown and Lauren Cook.
A 23-year-old Bronx woman was found dead and partially undressed on a sidewalk in Brooklyn Thursday morning, police and a witness said.
Taina Lacend, of Tremont, was found by officers after someone called about an assault on Olean Street, between East 23rd and East 24th streets, in Midwood at about 6:25 a.m. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Dalia Guzman, 39, who works as a housekeeper at a home near where Lacend was found, said she saw her body when she came to work.
“The lady had her pants down and blouse up,” she said.
Guzman added that she saw a small amount of blood near Lacend’s mouth, but police said she had no obvious signs of trauma.
Her death appeared to be “criminal in nature,” an NYPD spokesman said.
Sam Fridman, who lives in the home where Guzman works, said Lacend was found on the sidewalk in front of his garage.
“Everybody is scared,” he said, but added that he didn’t hear anything until police arrived. “I saw a body covered with a white sheet. We heard nothing.”
Oleg Tokar, 60, said he saw Lacend’s body near his wife’s car when he went to get his own car for work around 10 a.m.
“You could only see the legs up to the knees. I park my cars here,” he said. “She was on the street. [The police] told me to wait.”
Tokar, who has been living in the neighborhood for nearly 40 years, said it is mostly a “nice, quiet block.”
“Nothing, no crime has happened here. Very nice people live on this block. They don’t play loud music here,” he said. “I can’t believe what happened here.”
The medical examiner will determine the cause of death and the investigation is ongoing.
