Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Police want to know if the woman was dead when she was left in the woods.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- City police expect to file charges by the end of the week in the death of a 25-year-old woman found off Neshannock Avenue Extension.
Alicia DeRosa, whose last known address was Arlington Avenue, was found lying face down at 11:10 a.m. Sunday in a wooded area by a passer-by. Authorities think she may have been there only for an hour or two.
Police Chief Tom Sansone said authorities suspect drugs caused her death, but are waiting for toxicology reports due later this week.
An autopsy Monday didn't reveal any signs of trauma that could have caused her death, said Lawrence County Coroner Russell S. Noga.
The police chief said they are still waiting for forensic pathologist Dr. Karl Williams to tell them if DeRosa was dead when she was dropped off in the woods.
Sansone said they think she was in New Brighton, Pa., earlier that day. Her mother called Pennsylvania State Police to say that she had received a call that her daughter was unresponsive and in New Brighton, he said. The mother gave police a description of a vehicle, Sansone added.
The police chief said that as state police were searching for this vehicle, city police found DeRosa's body.
Sansone said New Brighton police eventually found the vehicle and questioned those inside. He said New Brighton is also conducting an investigation.
Sansone said the type of charges will depend on whether DeRosa was dead when she was left in the woods. He said if she was alive there would be homicide or manslaughter charges, but if she was dead there would be abuse of a corpse charges. He noted that charges could also be filed in New Brighton.
"We're pretty close to tying this up. We are just waiting for a few more answers from the coroner. We think we've identified who brought her up here," Sansone said.