What to Know
- The body of a 45-year-old Jersey City woman was pulled Sunday morning from a park lake about a block from where she lived
- She has been identified as Carolina Cano; her roommate told News 4 she went out around 5:30 a.m. Sunday and never came back
- Sources tell News 4 she had marks consistent with strangulation around her neck and police are looking into the possibility of a sex attack
A 45-year-old nanny pulled dead from a park lake in New Jersey a block from her home over the weekend may have been strangled and dumped in the water, her roommate and law enforcement sources familiar with the case tell News 4.
The woman, identified Thursday as 45-year-old Carolina Cano, of Jersey City, was found dead in the lake in Lincoln Park, not far from where she lived, on Sunday morning. Detectives don't believe she was in the water long.
Cano was wearing sneakers when she was found. Her roommate told News 4 that she went out to exercise around 5:30 a.m. Sunday and never came home.
"It has affected us so much because it happened so suddenly," the roommate said. "It didn't happen because she was sick, it happened from one moment to the next."
Cano's death has been ruled a homicide. Sources tell News 4 the medical examiner found marks consistent with strangulation around her neck, but those marks were not obvious when her body was first recovered. Police are also looking into the possibility Cano may have been sexually assaulted, sources say.
Her roommate tells News 4 that Cano's entire family lives in Peru and that she and they are absolutely devastated by her death.
"She was like family because I've known her since she was a little girl," the roommate said. She added that Cano didn't have a boyfriend and came to the U.S. alone; she worked as a nanny, possibly for a family in Passaic County.
"She was a working woman, a good woman," her roommate said. "She didn’t bother anyone. She was a woman that was always with God, that’s how she lived. She was really a beautiful woman. She had a very beautiful heart."
The lake where Cano was found is surrounded by running trails, roads and tennis courts. Detectives are looking for security video to help develop the case. No arrests have been made, nor have further details on the case been released.
Anyone with information about Cano is asked to call the Office of the Hudson County Prosecutor at 201-915-1345.
