• Homicide investigators probe death of Vanessa Marcotte, 27, in Princeton

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  Vanessa Marcotte, 27, identified as homicide victim in Princeton.
  

  

  
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• By Kim Ring
  Telegram & Gazette Staff

  
  Posted Aug. 8, 2016 at 6:40 AM
  Updated at 6:08 AM
  
  

  PRINCETON - A 27-year-old woman visiting family in town was killed Sunday and her body left in a wooded area about a half-mile from her mother’s house on Brooks Station Road.

  The killing of Vanessa T. Marcotte, a Google employee who lived in New York, has prompted an intense search for her killer.

  Police are warning residents to be vigilant and take precautions such as locking doors and not walking alone.

  Police said Ms. Marcotte went for a walk and when she did not return her family called police. A state police dog located the body. An investigative source said the woman was found naked, with burns to the face, hands and feet.

  “We have a horrible set of facts, a horrible circumstance here right now,” Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr said.

  “A preliminary review of the body has led the detectives to believe that this is a homicide investigation,” he said. “I must stress that we do not know if this is a random act. We’re asking the residents of Princeton to use an abundance of caution.”

  Mr. Early said residents in Princeton and surrounding towns should be alert and report anything they’ve seen, especially in the previous 24 hours, that seems suspicious.

  Detectives are focused on the hours of 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday and want residents to call the state police tip line at (508) 453-7589, state police detectives in the Worcester district attorney’s office at (508) 832-9124 or the Princeton police at (978) 464-2928.

  Mr. Early stressed several times that residents should be very cautious.

  “Right now we have an active homicide investigation going on. You can’t be too careful,” he said.

  State Police kept a section of Brooks Station Road closed off at Radford Road and Connor Lane all day Monday, although a steady stream of cruisers and unmarked cars were allowed passage to the area where the body was found.

  At about 1 p.m., a team of officers spread into the woods about 50 yards on both sides of the street and swept north toward the hilltop common at the center of the small, rural town. In their search for clues in the case, officers reported finding nothing; only an old leather belt hanging from a tree attracted a brief stop and closer look.

  Princeton Police Chief Michelle Powers said the killing has police concerned.

  “We’d ask people to pay attention to their surroundings,” she said.

  The six full-time and nine part-time officers that make up the Princeton Police Department are beefing up patrols, the chief said.

  She has been keeping Town Administrator Nina Nazarian updated on the situation, and Ms. Nazarian said she and selectmen, who will hold a regularly scheduled meeting Monday evening, will work to provide what is needed to keep residents safe.

  The chief said in her 27 years in town she's never seen a crime like this and she is worried.

  Mr. Early said the investigation is in its early stages.

  He said he would not get into any details about the “abduction” and declined to say whether Ms. Marcotte was killed in the area where her body was found.

  There was no information about possible suspects and state police were canvassing the area, the district attorney said.

  Ms. Marcotte was working as an account manager at Google in New York. She was a 2007 graduate of the Bancroft School in Worcester and a 2011 graduate of Boston University College of Communications.

  A statement was posted on the Bancroft School alumni Facebook page Monday expressing sadness about her death.

  "The Bancroft community is deeply saddened at the tragic death of alumna Vanessa Marcotte '07, whose body was found in Princeton, MA, yesterday. As a student at Bancroft from 2003 through 2007, Vanessa was loved and respected by classmates and faculty alike. This is a great loss for our community. We offer prayers and sympathy to all of Vanessa’s family and friends."

  And her Google family was also saddened by the tragic news and released this statement Monday.

  "Vanessa Marcotte was a much loved member of the Google team, working in our New York office for the last year and a half, and known for her ubiquitous smile, passion for volunteer work, and love of Boston sports," a Google spokesperson said. "We are deeply shocked and saddened, and our thoughts are with her family and friends."

  Ms. Marcotte was an avid runner and had run in the Falmouth Road Race in 2012 and 2014 as part of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s team to raise money for cancer research.

  Staff reporters Craig Semon and Cyrus Moulton contributed to this story.