New York

Neighbor Arrested in Strangling Death of 78-Year-Old Brooklyn Woman: Police

Police have arrested a neighbor in the strangling death of a 78-year-old woman whose bloodied body was found in her Brooklyn home Monday night.

Tamisha Harper, 43, was arrested Friday in the murder of Edna Pierre-Jacques, whose death was ruled a homicide from manual strangulation, authorities say. 

The two were neighbors, but a motive remains unclear. Police say they may have had an argument. 

Pierre-Jacques was found with a hammer near her body, which prompted to police to initially believe she may have been beaten with it. 

It wasn't clear if Pierre-Jacques sustained her head injuries in a fall or a beating -- or if the hammer had been used in an attack -- but the medical examiner has ruled her death a homicide.

The dead woman's daughter and granddaughter found her body, and her husband was at the Troy Avenue home at the time. They were questioned before police ultimately arrested Harper. 

It wasn't known if Harper had an attorney. 

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