Woman's body is discovered wedged halfway in window

By Bill Bryan

10/20/2005

A partly clad woman found halfway through a window probably died by accident while trying to burglarize the home of an acquaintance, ******* police theorized Wednesday.

Police said the woman, Rosetta Powell, 36, appeared to have died of asphyxiation. Autopsy results were pending. Powell had a home address in Elsberry, in *************.

She was found trapped in a rear window in the 5400 block of ****** Avenue. The owner told police that he met Powell on Monday and that she spent that night with him. On Tuesday morning, the man said, he went to work and Powell left.

Police said they believed Powell returned and tried to break into the home. She appeared to have broken a rear window, reached in, opened a latch and started to crawl through. But a second latch on the window kept it from opening any further, and the woman became wedged in and died, investigators suggested.

They believe her pants fell off as she was struggling to free herself.

The homeowner arrived about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday to discover her lower body hanging out the window, police said. The man could not be reached for comment.