The woman who was found sprawled on a Brooklyn sidewalk with her pants pulled down may have died of a drug overdose, police sources said Friday.
Taina Lacend, 23, was discovered on Olean St. near E. 24th St. in Midwood about 6:30 a.m. Thursday.Her clothes were in disarray and blood was coming from her mouth and nose, cops said. Her purse was nearby.An autopsy was conducted Friday, but the results were pending, a spokeswoman for the city Medical Examiner’s Office said.
Meanwhile, investigators are building a timeline of the hours leading up to her death in the hopes of determining where she was and who she was with.
Detectives are probing the possibility that Lacend died of a drug overdose and was dumped in Midwood, police sources said.
A man who lives in the neighborhood made the gruesome find on his way to work. His wife called 911 and told a dispatcher she believed the woman was assaulted.
Lacend spent most of her teen years in and out of foster care, according to her foster mother Regina Mackins.
Her mother, and possibly a sister, are in the shelter system, said Mackins, who was still reeling from news of Lacend’s death.
“She's still a big kid, even though she's in her 20s,” Mackins said from her East New York home, where Lacend lived for nearly three years. “I can't believe it...it was on the TV yesterday and I thought 'Oh, Lord.'
“I was like 'I hope it's not her, I hope it's not her',” she remembered.
While Mackins never saw Lacend do drugs, she thought it was likely the young woman overdosed.
“Taina was really bubbly. She never disrespected me, she was the sweetest thing to me,” the foster mom said. “But she liked the street. She liked to hang out with trouble.”
Taina Lacend, 23, was discovered on Olean St. near E. 24th St. in Midwood about 6:30 a.m. Thursday.Her clothes were in disarray and blood was coming from her mouth and nose, cops said. Her purse was nearby.An autopsy was conducted Friday, but the results were pending, a spokeswoman for the city Medical Examiner’s Office said.Meanwhile, investigators are building a timeline of the hours leading up to her death in the hopes of determining where she was and who she was with.
Detectives are probing the possibility that Lacend died of a drug overdose and was dumped in Midwood, police sources said.
A man who lives in the neighborhood made the gruesome find on his way to work. His wife called 911 and told a dispatcher she believed the woman was assaulted.
Lacend spent most of her teen years in and out of foster care, according to her foster mother Regina Mackins.
Her mother, and possibly a sister, are in the shelter system, said Mackins, who was still reeling from news of Lacend’s death.
“She's still a big kid, even though she's in her 20s,” Mackins said from her East New York home, where Lacend lived for nearly three years. “I can't believe it...it was on the TV yesterday and I thought 'Oh, Lord.'
“I was like 'I hope it's not her, I hope it's not her',” she remembered.
While Mackins never saw Lacend do drugs, she thought it was likely the young woman overdosed.
“Taina was really bubbly. She never disrespected me, she was the sweetest thing to me,” the foster mom said. “But she liked the street. She liked to hang out with trouble.”
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