LAWRENCE, MASS. (WHDH) - Family members are mourning after they said their 21-year-old loved one was found dead in the basement of a home in Lawrence on Tuesday.
The Essex District Attorney’s office in a statement said Lawrence police were first called to a basement apartment on Salem Street around 7:45 a.m. for a well-being check.
The DA’s office said responding officers soon found an unresponsive person, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
The DA’s office did not immediately share any additional information. Family members spoke with reporters, though, identifying the person who died as Diamaris Mejia.
“She was a nice girl,” said former stepmother Nelly Perez.
Family members said Mejia had been living in Lawrence for roughly one year after immigrating to the US from the Dominican Republic. She had two children back in the Dominican Republic and was working to send money back to them.
Family members said they think Mejia’s body was left in the basement since a party on Christmas Eve. Family members continued, saying they believe Mejia was trying to leave a troubled relationship.
“Maybe she wanted to leave him,” Perez said. “Because, her suitcase was already packed with all her clothes.”
“They’re little,” Perez continued, referring to Mejia’s children. “They’re so little.”
Loved ones gathered on Salem Street to grieve together Tuesday night. The DA’s office said an investigation was ongoing, in the meantime, involving state and local police.
Officials said they do not believe there is any ongoing threat to the public.
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