A pregnant mother of four stabbed to death in her Brooklyn apartment the day before her wedding was found with a note vowing more pregnant women would die until "the DC sniper" is released from prison, NBC 4 New York has confirmed.
The New York Post was first to report the note in the death of Vindalee Smith, 38.
Smith was found on the floor of her home in East Flatbush on Saturday. Neighbors said she had moved into the area in recent weeks. Her other children are grown and did not live with her.
The note referring to sniper Lee Boyd Malvo was found underneath her body, a source confirms to NBC 4 New York. The source also says a bloody fingerprint was left on the note; investigators are analyzing the print.
Detectives do not believe the woman or her killer had any connection to the sniper; they think the message is a diversion attempt.
Police said there was no sign of forced entry, and no weapon was recovered.
Meanwhile Monday, Smith's fiance, who remains married to a woman in New Jersey, was arrested for having a forged license plate. He is a person of interest in the case, law enforcement officials said.
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Smith had once feuded with a former neighbor who threatened to kill her, but it was months ago and the trouble had stopped when she moved to the new apartment, the Rev. Ferron Francis told the Daily News.
On Sunday, police tape blocked off the street to keep people away from the brownstone home.
"It just hurts," said Smith's neighbor Beverly Fraser. "It's really sad that the person had to take two lives, two innocent lives."
Smith was a devout Seventh-Day Adventist and attended New Dimension Church, about half a block from her residence.
The brutal, unexpected death "is tragic, it has broken our hearts," Francis said.
Smith had joined the church about three years ago, said Andrew Connor, a deacon at New Dimension.
"She was dedicated to her family," he said. "She was beautiful and this is very surreal."
