A 96-year-old Montecito woman has been identified as a homicide victim in an ongoing Sheriff’s Office investigation.
Violet Evelyn Alberts was found dead in her Park Lane home on May 27.
Deputies responded to a report of an unresponsive person, and found Alberts dead with “suspicious circumstances,” according to Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Raquel Zick.
The Coroner’s Bureau autopsy determined the death was not natural, Zick said.
Alberts’ name has not been released until now because the Coroner’s Bureau has not been able to find a next of kin, Zick said Friday. That part of the case was transferred to the Santa
Barbara County Public Administrator’s Office on Thursday.
The homicide investigation is ongoing, and the Coroner’s Bureau is not releasing the cause of death or any other details about the case, Zick said.
Anyone with information about the case can contact investigators at 805.681.4150 or provide information anonymously through the sheriff’s tip line at 805.681.4171 or the Sheriff’s Office website at https://www.sbsheriff.org/home/anonymous-tip/.
— Noozhawk managing editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.