Woman Found Dead at Rental Home Owned by Husband of Ayanna Pressley Ruled Homicide
Boston police are investigating the death of an 18-year-old woman found inside a rental property owned by the husband of Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D) after the city’s medical examiner officially ruled the death a homicide.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner announced Thursday that Yoseliani Ann Marte Ocasio died from a single gunshot wound to the head. Authorities formally ruled the manner of death a homicide following additional forensic testing.
The ruling comes nearly two weeks after Ocasio’s body was discovered inside a two-family home in the Mattapan neighborhood on July 18.
According to the Boston Police Department, officers responded after an individual entered the District E-18 police station and reported that someone had been shot.
Officers entered the residence, conducted a protective sweep and found Ocasio’s body in the second-floor apartment near a rear bedroom.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
An autopsy performed the following day determined the cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the head, though the medical examiner initially withheld a ruling on the manner of death pending additional testing.
On Thursday, investigators confirmed the death was a homicide.
The Boston Police Department’s Homicide Unit continues to investigate the case.
As of Thursday, no arrests had been made and no criminal charges had been filed.
Property records identify Conan Harris, the husband of Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), as the owner of the two-story, seven-bedroom home.
According to property records cited in the report, the residence had been operating as a rental property. The home is assessed at approximately $919,000 and had been listed for sale for about $1.15 million.
Boston police emphasized there is no evidence connecting the property’s owners to the homicide.
“There is absolutely nothing that indicates any connection to the owners of the property,” police officials said.
Shortly after the body was discovered, a spokesperson for Pressley’s office offered condolences to the victim’s family and confirmed neither the congresswoman nor her family had any involvement in the incident.
“The Congresswoman extends her deepest condolences to the impacted family,” the spokesperson said.
Pressley later said she was devastated by the young woman’s death and expressed sympathy for Ocasio’s family, per Trending Politics.
In the days following the discovery, Ocasio’s mother, Elenie Ocasio, publicly identified her daughter and said she believes the killing stemmed from domestic violence.
Speaking to local media, she said she believes she knows who is responsible for her daughter’s death.
In a GoFundMe campaign created to help cover funeral expenses, Elenie Ocasio described her daughter as someone who was deeply loved by family and friends and whose life was cut short before she could fulfill her dreams.
“This coward killed my baby. He put a gun to her head, took my baby in that house and left her to die,” Ocasio wrote.
Authorities have not publicly identified any suspects, and investigators have not announced whether the killing was related to domestic violence.
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