APD investigating 1st homicide of 2012

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Detectives with the Austin Police Department are investigating their first homicide of 2012.  

Just before 3 a.m. on New Year's Day, police said EMS was called out for a welfare check in the 3100 block of King Street in north central Austin. 

When medical personnel arrived, they found a 29-year-old woman dead inside the home.

Police said they are investigating this as a homicide but won't go into detail as how the woman might have died. 

A female friend of the victim talked to KXAN News on Sunday afternoon and said the victim was 29-years-old and was a teacher at an area elementary school.  The victim is originally from El Paso and police are waiting to release her name until her family is notified.

"She was a nice neighbor," said Alex Butcher, who was home at the time police showed up.  "She introduced herself and came over for dinner once."

Butcher, like other neighbors, were home between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. and said they did not hear any commotion coming from the house.

"It was quiet," Butcher said.

The victim's female friend, who asked not to be identified, said the 29-year-old was ringing in the New Year at the 29th Street Ballroom and was supposed to walk home with another female friend.

The ballroom is just two blocks away.  It is unclear if she ended up walking home alone.

The landlord did show up and duct taped a window in the front of the home.  They said the woman was neat and a great tenant.

But, friends and neighbors believe this was a random crime, especially since a 21-year-old woman came forward and told police she was assaulted outside of the home that is a now a crime scene.

That woman spoke exclusively to KXAN and said she was walking home from a party six blocks away when she noticed a man following her.  She ran up to a house where people were partying on the porch and called police.  This happened around 2 a.m. Sunday.

Officers did come out.  They took a report and said they would look for the man but never found him.

About an hour later, the same woman decided to walk to her house and that is when she says she was attacked in front of the homicide victim's house. 

Suddenly he was behind me, he grabbed me, wrestled me to the ground, hit my head against the ground and screamed really loud and he ran off and then I got help," said the alleged assault victim, who asked not to be identified to protect her safety.

The neighbors she ran to for help confirmed her report of what happened.

Police interviewed the 21-year-old again this afternoon and took down her description of the alleged attacker.

The lead homicide investigator would not confirm the cases are connected but did comment it was a strange coincidence.

No arrest have been made in either case.