Last updated at 3:24 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024.
ST. CROIX — The V.I. Police Department is investigating the death of a woman found unresponsive in her apartment at the Harbor View Apartments on Friday, September 13, 2024.
According to the VIPD, the 911 Emergency Call Center was alerted to the situation at approximately 4:06 p.m. by maintenance workers who discovered the tenant in her unit.
Upon arrival at the scene, investigators found the woman, a Hispanic female identified as Jendiya Mendez, also known as "Flaca," in a bruised and disheveled state. She was found nude and sitting on a chair near the door of her apartment in Harbor View Building 23.
Authorities spoke with a neighbor of the deceased, who reported that they last saw Mendez on Saturday, September 7, around 12:00 p.m. The neighbor noted that Mendez had a visible scab on the left side of her face. When questioned about the injury, Mendez stated that she had fallen.
The neighbor said they continued to check on Mendez but became concerned when she did not respond to repeated attempts at contact. After failing to get a response on Thursday and Friday of the previous week, the neighbor reached out to the apartment office for assistance. It was this sequence of events that led to the discovery of Mendez's unresponsive condition by maintenance workers, according to the VIPD's investigation.
Authorities are treating the case as a suspicious death while they await the results of an autopsy to determine the official cause of death.
Jendiya Mendez was born in Puerto Rico on July 29, 1981. Investigators continue to look into the events leading up to her death and are urging anyone with information to come forward.
