TACOMA, Wash. — Editor's note: The above video on the death of Syretta Brown originally aired November 30, 2021.
The death of Syretta Brown, a 35-year-old woman whose body was found inside a tent at a Tacoma homeless encampment in November, is being investigated as a homicide.
The Tacoma Police Department (TPD) made the announcement Monday following the homicide ruling by the Pierce County Medical Examiner last week.
Brown’s body was discovered on Nov. 13 shortly before noon after TPD received a report of a body near East 38th Street and McKinley Avenue. She died of multiple sharp force injuries, according to the Pierce County Medical Examiner.
TPD said that when medical personnel responded, they discovered Brown’s body inside a tent and found that she had been dead for an extended period of time.
Brown’s parents, Debora and Dennis Underwood, told KING 5 in November that detectives told them of their daughter’s death on Nov. 16, saying detectives had told them she was found with a knife wound and a broken jaw.
Her parents said that Brown had struggled with homelessness, mental health and drug use, and the last time they had seen her was for Thanksgiving in 2020.
Tacoma police haven't released any information about a potential suspect.
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