ICYMI: Family of Lilia Aucapina Request That Police Reopen Investigation Into Her Death

In case you missed it, here’s a story that appeared earlier this week in East Hampton Patch:

The family of Lilia “Esperanza” Aucapina, the Sagaponack woman who was found dead in a local woods last month, have asked police to reopen the investigation into her death.

Aucapina’s niece, Maria Duchi, of East Hampton, has said that the family has not received complete answers from police, whose two month investigation led them to find her body about 500 feet from her home, according to a report in Sag Harbor Online.

“We haven’t gotten the complete results of the autopsy, but to the [Southampton Town police], the case is closed,” she told Sag Harbor Online. “They keep saying this is a suicide. They should have brought in from the beginning a group from homicide.”

Some say that despite evidence of possible abuse and criminal activity, the police did not thoroughly investigate 40-year-old Aucapina’s death and “jumped to the conclusion” of suicide because she was Latina, according to the report.

Aucapina, who was reported missing on October 10, was found in the Sagaponack woods by a hunter in November.

Police said after an initial investigation that her death was not believed to be criminal in nature.

The body was found in a heavily wooded area about 500 feet from her home on Toppings Path, which was originally not picked up by the K-9’s because the wind blew the scent away from the dog.

“It was heavily foliaged, plus the ground cover was high so it is thickets that you would have to be able to get into,” Ralph previously told 27east. ”With all those factors, she was missed.”

Earlier this month, Aucapina’s family filed a former request, written by Foster Maer, senior litigation counsel for the civil rights organization LatinoJustice, with the Southampton Town supervisor Anna Thorne requesting that the investigation into her death be reopened and reassigned to the Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad, 27east reports.

In the letter, the family is claiming that the Town Police did not “sufficiently consider that Aucapina’s death may have in fact been a criminal act, as the department did not contact trained homicide detectives,” according to 27east.

“Whatever their exact reasoning, the Town Police viewed the discovery of her body as confirmation that she had committed suicide and continued their refusal to expand the investigation or have trained homicide detectives take over,” the letter stated, according to 27east.