WATERTOWN - Police have identified the Watertown woman they found dead inside her home Wednesday afternoon.
Maryann Kibbe-Stanisz, 70, a widow, who lived alone, might have been dead for a day or more, according to investigators.
Even with police long gone, crime tape remains up in front of the residence at 24 Bushnell Ave.
"It’s too bad," said neighbor Steve Anderson. "She was a nice lady."
The sister of Kibbe-Stanisz called police Wednesday because she could not reach her.
"When officers arrived at the house, they could see the person down inside the house," said Watertown Police Det. Mark Conway. "Officers forced entry at which time they found the victim deceased."
Kibbe-Stanisz sustained traumatic injuries to her head. They are treating her death as suspicious, thus the homicide designation.
"Honestly, this morning, I was looking up cameras to set up around the house," said another neighbor, Misty Bourgoin. "It seems like this shouldn’t be that type of community."
The victim's car was also missing, but it was found Wednesday a the parking lot next to the Lit Ultra Lounge, on W. Main St., in Waterbury, several miles from her home.
"Mr. Anderson said she "kept to herself, a loner, just quiet all the time."
Police want to speak with several people, including a handyman they say the woman had been in touch with about odd jobs around the house.
"That handyman is not a suspect, but it is someone we would like to talk to to get a timeline of the victim's last contacts," said Det. Conway.
And, police won't rule out the homicide being connected to an uptick in car crimes in the area.
"When I first moved into the neighborhood, both of my neighbors, the closest neighbors, warned me that there have been car break-ins and to keep my doors locked," said Bourgoin.
"Everybody’s a little nervous all around, wondering what’s going on, who it is, if they still got to worry about somebody, if they’re still around the neighborhood," said Anderson.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner expects to have an official manner and cause of death sometime Friday.