A woman who was found dead and partially clothed with burns on her body inside a Staten Island park in November took her own life, the medical examiner said Monday.
Yelena Rabkina, 30, was found in Long Pond Park in Tottenville around 1 p.m. on Nov. 25, seven days after she was reported missing, according to police.
The NYPD launched an investigation into Rabkina’s death, but several days after her body was discovered police officials said there was no evidence that a crime had been committed.
Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea had said Rabkina, who lived in Arrochar, took money from her grandmother and briefly visited Brooklyn on the day she was reported missing, but dramatic weather changes made it difficult to immediately pin down how long her body was in the park before she was found.
The city medical examiner performed an autopsy, and on Monday said Rabkina died of thermal burns and had taken her own life. A piece of a gas can was discovered near her body, Shea had said.
With Alison Fox
