North Carolina woman dies after being beaten in park

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — A woman who was assaulted in a city park in North Carolina has died, police said.

Ella Lorine Crawley, 50, was found near a walking path in Gateway Commons Park in Winston-Salem last Saturday morning, the Winston-Salem Journal reported Tuesday. Police said Crawley had visible head injuries, and police said she was in grave need of assistance. She died on Sunday.

The N.C. Medical Examiner’s Office says Crawley died from blunt force trauma and strangulation. Detectives believe Crawley was walking in the area before she was killed.

Police are investigating her death as a homicide, which would be the city’s eighth in 2020. There were eight homicides at the same time last year.