Woman Dies After Being Found With Rosary Beads Stuffed Down Throat

A New York woman died Tuesday after being found unconscious and unresponsive with rosary beads stuffed in her mouth in the apartment hallway of her building. Hellen Hernandez, the 33-year-old victim, who lived in the Bronx, was found by her teenage son a little before 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Police arrived to find Hernandez with beads in her mouth and with bruises and scratches on her face. Emergency workers tried to resuscitate Hernandez but she was later pronounced dead at Lincoln Medical Center.

Earlier that day, police responded to a report of an “emotionally disturbed person” walking nearby. Upon arrival, they found a man naked in the street yelling about the devil. The man was later identified as 34-year-old Pierre Jones, Hernandez’s boyfriend, CW affiliate PIX 11 reported. Jones was believed to be under the influence of some kind of drugs at the time, according to CBS New York. A witness told police he was mumbling about someone “being with God now.” Police tased him and were able to take him into custody.

“I don’t know who he is, I just know that she was dating him for what they call ‘a minute’ now,” family friend Martha Carrasquillo told CBS. “They were trying to keep her away from him but I don’t know what happened.”

Police had not yet determined Hernandez’s cause of death. Jones remained the primary suspect but had not been charged with a crime, according to WABC. Investigators said he had a criminal history that included domestic violence charges. A source told CBS he had 42 prior arrests.

When asked by reporters what might have happened, Carrasquillo said it could be the result of “drugs or somebody crazy.”

“Regardless of her ups and downs in her life,” Carrasquillo said, “she was a beautiful person and she always was with her boys.”