NEW YORK – The body of a naked woman with her throat slashed and a knife sticking out of it was found Saturday at a luxury hotel next to Central Park, police said.
Investigators looking into the death at the Jumeirah Essex House hotel, on the park's southern edge, said the woman appeared to be in her 30s.
The body was found by a maid Saturday afternoon in a 10th floor condo at the 44-story Manhattan hotel. The hotel is near Broadway and upscale Fifth Avenue shops such as Tiffany & Co. and Bergdorf Goodman.
The hotel, which opened in 1931, said in a statement its "heartfelt condolences go out to the victim's family."
Guests at the art deco landmark, which features 509 luxury rooms and suites up to 2,500 square feet, said they didn't know a body had been found until newspaper reporters showed up and started asking questions. But they said they had noticed an increase in security.
Tourist John Carcio of Seattle said he was staying with his wife at the hotel on the same floor where the woman's body was found.
He said they were returning in the afternoon from a visit to the Carnegie Deli, a few blocks away, and were met by police officers upon arriving at their floor.
"We immediately knew something bad had happened," he said.
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