Police: Woman found murdered in Secane apartment

UPPER DARBY, PA (WTXF) Police are investigating after a woman was found dead in her Secane apartment.

It was just before 5 p.m. Wednesday when Upper Darby police were called to the New Orleans Park apartments on South Avenue where friends had discovered the body of a 36-year-old woman dead in her bathtub. She was identified as Markia Benson.

"Naked, lying in the tub, preliminarily it looks like she was strangled to death," said Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood. "It looks like she may have known her murderer. There is no sign of forced entry and the door is locked."

According to Chitwood, the killer left a message on the wall but he would not elaborate.

Neighbors at the sprawling complex were stunned by the murder. Police searched the area for evidence that might lead them to the killer.

Chitwood says the body was discovered when two of Benson's coworkers at a Chester packing company came to the complex when Benson failed to show up for work. Police say Benson texted her mom around 7:45 a.m. Wednesday morning but that's the last time anyone heard from her. Investigators believe Benson was killed sometime after that, around 9 or 10 a.m.

Police are awaiting autopsy results to see if it yields any clues. In the meantime, police are asking for the public's help in finding the killer.