What to Know
- The body of 27-year-old Vanessa Marcotte was found in the woods in Princeton, Massachusetts, on Sunday evening.
- Her mother reported her missing after she didn't return from a run that evening.
- Authorities said that there didn't immediately appear to be any connections between the deaths of the two runners.
A New York City Google employee was found dead after leaving to go on a run while visiting her mother in Massachusetts appears to have died in a homicide.
Law enforcement sources told NBC 4 New York sister station NECN that the body of 27-year-old Vanessa Marcotte was found naked and burned about a half-mile from her mother's home in Princeton, Massachusetts, on Sunday evening.
Marcotte, who lives in New York City and has worked at Google's Chelsea offices for 1 1/2 years, was reported missing by her mother after she failed to return from the run that afternoon, according to Worcester District Attorney Joe Early.
Her body was found Sunday evening, and an autopsy will be performed to determine how the woman died.
It's not clear who may have killed Marcotte, but Early said that police cannot yet rule out random violence. He was asking residents to "use an abundance of caution."
Marcotte is an account executive at Google and grew up in in Leominster, about 10 miles from Princeton. The two towns are about 60 miles west of downtown Boston.
Google said in a statement was "known for her ubiquitous smile, passion for volunteer work and love of Boston sports."
"We are deeply shocked and saddened, and our thoughts are with her family and friends," the company said in a statement.
Local
Her death comes about a week after the body of Karina Vetrano was found in the weeds near Jamaica Bay in Queens. Authorities said that Vetrano put up a "ferocious" fight before an attacker sexually assaulted and strangled her in an apparently random act of violence.
Early said that there didn't immediately appear to be any connections between the deaths of the two runners.
Another official briefed on the investigations told NBC 4 New York said that NYPD detectives will be compare case notes with police in Massachusetts to see if there is any connection between the deaths of Marcotte and Vetrano but that there's nothing to suggest the killings are connected.
