Des Moines Police say the case of a woman found dead in her apartment this week is now being treated as a homicide. Sergeant Steve Woody identified the victim as 47-year-old Cynthia Rouse.
A friend called police at 9 a.m. Monday after finding Rouse. Few other details about the case are being released.
“I don’t believe a time of death has been definitively decided yet. The autopsy is underway, so we should know more in a day or two about the actual time and cause of death,” Woody said.
Rouse lived near Drake Park in a home that’s converted into four apartments. She live alone in an upstairs unit.
“Detectives are still on the case, interviewing people, and the crime scene people will be there throughout this day,” Woody said. Rouse’s death is Des Moines’ first homicide of 2013.