Officers responded to a report of an unconscious person at the location around 9:43 a.m. And found the victim there. She was pronounced dead at the scene, and the NYPD later confirmed she suffered multiple stab wounds to the body.
No arrests have been made. The investigation is still ongoing, and police haven't released the victim's identity or said what led up to the attack.
A killing like this in one of the country's most visited public parks raises obvious safety questions for anyone who walks through that stretch of Manhattan, especially in daylight hours when the area is typically full of joggers, tourists and commuters cutting through on their way to work. Police haven't said whether they believe the attack was random or targeted, leaving a gap in information that tends to fuel unease in a densely populated area like the Upper East Side.
For now, investigators are working with few public details and no suspect in custody, in a case that started with a routine call about an unconscious person and ended with a homicide investigation in one of the most heavily trafficked green spaces in the country.