The Gilroy Police Department has classified what was originally a suspicious death of a 74-year-old Gilroy woman at a residence on the 1400 block of Bristlecone Court Tuesday night as a homicide, police said Friday.
Officers arrived at approximately 6:31 p.m. April 1 and found Doris Mae Knapp suffering from injuries to her upper body, according to Sgt. Pedro Espinoza. After medical personnel attempted CPR and other life-saving techniques, the woman was pronounced dead.
Based on preliminary information from the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner’s Office, and the ongoing investigation, the change in classification was made public around 3 p.m. Friday afternoon, Espinoza added.
At this time, police are not releasing any additional information surrounding Knapp’s death or injuries and this is the second homicide investigation of 2014 in the Garlic Capital, he said.
Police are encouraging anyone with additional information to contact Detective Michael Bolton or the Investigations Bureau at (408) 846-0350. Parties wishing to remain anonymous may call We-Tip at 1-800-782-7463 (1-800-78-CRIME).
Second homicide investigation of 2014 underway
On Feb. 11, 68-year-old Martin Gonzales, of Gilroy, was pronounced dead on the sidewalk in front of Las Animas Veterans Park, allegedly shot by 33-year-old Jerome Moore – also of Gilroy. In a complete turn of events, police later dropped a murder charge against Moore, saying he “was acting in reasonable self defense,” according to court records.
