SEATTLE — Frustration is growing in Seattle’s Phinney Ridge neighborhood after a young woman’s body was discovered in the alleyway on Sept. 1.
A makeshift memorial now rests where the body of Zoella Martinez, 20, was discovered earlier this month.
Those who knew her well have left flowers, pictures and personal notes at the site.
Police said a jogger discovered her body near the intersection of Greenwood Avenue North and 73rd Street at around 5 a.m.
“I saw this long line of police cars here, and the area was roped off, and I wondered, man, something’s wrong,” said Rick McWolfe.
He and others in the area have grown frustrated with the lack of information police have shared about the case.
“I think there’s a responsibility to let people know they found a girl,” said McWolfe. “People are just in the dark.”
Detectives have identified the suspect as 23-year-old Jacaree Rashad Hardy.
All they are sharing at this point is that he’s 6 feet tall, weighs around 215 pounds and could be anywhere between Seattle and Portland.
“It did change our habits. It is alarming,” said Adrey Ocampo, who has lived in Phinney Ridge for 15 years.
KIRO 7 reached out to Seattle police on Thursday. We asked what led up to Martinez’s death, but officers said they have nothing new to share about the case.
“It is concerning,” said Ocampo. “We want anyone that’s making decisions to kill someone to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Earlier this month, the medical examiner’s office ruled this case a homicide, and on Sept. 24 stated her cause of death was due to multiple gunshot wounds.
With so little information made available, residents aren’t sure what to make of it all.
“I’d just like to know what the facts are,” said McWolfe. “Then I’ll make a determination whether I’ll have to worry or not.”