It wasn’t until the coroner’s van drove up that neighbors on a tidy Gary street knew something was wrong.
The bodies of a man and woman were found Wednesday in a Gary Housing Authority apartment after police were called to do a welfare check at a home in the 900 block of West 24th Avenue in the Delaney Housing Complex.
“I saw the woman a few times, but I didn’t know her,” said a woman who said she has been a resident for 41 years. She asked that her name not be used. “This is a very sad day; I’m astounded.”
The female victim, according to Gary Police spokesman Cpl. Doug Drummond, lived at the residence.
The names of the victims were being withheld pending notification of family Wednesday. So far in 2016, 23 people have been victims of homicides in the city. The Lake County Coroner’s Office’s official determination was pending the investigation Wednesday evening.
The coroner’s office said that the victims were pronounced dead at the scene at 12:51 p.m. and died from stab wounds. Officers are treating the investigation as a homicide, Drummond said in a release.
Neighbors on the street said they didn’t know the woman who lived there, but did see her.
“I was outside this morning, and when (law enforcement) opened the doors, the smell that came out of there was terrible,” said another woman, who asked her name not be used. “I didn’t even know there were two people in there.
“The door wasn’t kicked in or the windows busted out, so they could’ve been innocent people. They didn’t deserve to get cut up.”
Anyone with information can contact Lake County/Gary Metro Homicide Detective Alexander Jones at 219-755-3852.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
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