Body Found Decaying in Hayward Home Ruled a Homicide

HAYWARD, CA- The death of a woman whose decaying body was found inside her home in unincorporated Hayward last week has now been determined to be a homicide, Alameda County sheriff's officials said.

Deputies found the body of 50-year-old Patricia Carpenter at her home in the 22300 Block of Princeton Street at about 8:20 p.m. on Oct. 5 after they received a report that a foul odor was coming from inside her
home, Sgt. Ray Kelly said.

Deputies who had to force their way into the home found Carpenter dead and decomposing in the living room, according to Kelly.

Carpenter's neighbors told deputies that they hadn't seen any activity at her residence for about a week or more, Kelly said.

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Deputies were unable to determine Carpenter's cause of death at the time because of the advanced decomposition of her body so they initially treated the incident as a suspicious death, he said.

But after conducting an investigation and reviewing preliminary autopsy results, investigators have now determined that Carpenter's death was a homicide, Kelly said.

"Our detectives are following up on leads and are working hard to solve this case," he said.

Kelly said investigators can't disclose much information about the case at this time but believe the incident was isolated to Carpenter's home and there is no ongoing threat to the community.

He said anyone with information about Carpenter's death should call sheriff's investigators at (510) 667-7721 or (510) 667-3636.

— Bay City News; Image via Shutterstock