A late-night emergency call on Saturday has turned into a homicide investigation after 40-year-old Tamara Rowe, a Jamaican immigrant and former Gleaner newsroom employee, was discovered bleeding inside her sixth-floor residence on East 232nd Street in Wakefield. Paramedics rushed her to hospital, but surgeons could not reverse the damage from knife wounds to her chest and arm.
Detectives believe the attack unfolded around 11 p.m. and was confined to the family’s apartment. Security footage reportedly shows a man fleeing the building seconds after neighbors heard screams. Police have not released the individual’s name but confirm that Rowe’s common-law partner—father to the couple’s two- and ten-year-old children—has yet to come forward for questioning.
Investigators spent Sunday bagging evidence, cataloguing electronics, and interviewing residents who said Rowe had emigrated to the United States roughly three years ago to give her children “a fresh start.” The younger child was inside the home during the assault but was physically unharmed.
The NYPD is urging anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. No arrests have been announced, and officials have not ruled out additional suspects as they await lab results from the crime scene.
