Neighbors in Shock as Early Morning Death Investigation Ruled Homicide

ROCKFORD - A death investigation early Thursday morning turned into a murder investigation by the afternoon.  The victim is an 85 year-old woman who lived in the 2100 block of Martha Avenue.  Her neighbors are shocked because they never seen violent crime.

Police cars lined Martha Avenue for most of the morning on Thursday.  An officer and investigators were posted outside the home of the murder victim throughout the day.  Neighbors say they heard screams this morning from the victim's granddaughter who discovered her grandmother face down in her home around 7:00 am.

"She couldn't even talk really, she was so distraught," said Savanah Xayasith, a friend of the granddaughter and neighbor of the victim. 

Xayasith described the woman who lived across the street from her as a kind, innocent woman.

"She was just a sweet old lady really," said Xayasith.  "She kept to herself really.  She did some gardening but it's really just surprising."

After detectives and the coroner completed their initial investigation early Thursday afternoon, they ruled the case a homicide.

"One of the facts that led to it being murder is trauma on the body," said Lt. Marc Welsh of Rockford Police. 

Welsh said he couldn't go into what the details of the trauma were, but said that was the reason for the murder investigation.

Neighbors now say they're in fear for their safety.  Dixie Hackler says she used to keep her doors unlocked sometimes, but now she says she'll be locking her door all the time.

"It's friends around here," said Hackler.  "Everybody walks into everybody's house, but now you've got to think about it."

All the neighbors on Martha Avenue just say they can't believe anything like this would happen to such a sweet little old lady.

"It's right next door," Hackler said.  "You know you kind of wonder, why did they walk into her house?  There's no reason to walk into her house."

This marks Rockford's eighth murder of 2012.  At this time last year Rockford had 15 murders.

Investigators still don't have a person of interest at this time and anyone with information is urged to call Crimestoppers.