Woman found dead in Syracuse identified; family says she was reported missing days ago

Syracuse, NY – The family of a woman who was reported missing several days ago said she was found dead on Syracuse’s north side on Saturday.

Syracuse police confirmed that a body was found in the 1100 block of Hawley Avenue in the Lincoln Park area at 11:42 a.m. They said they are treating the death as a homicide.

The body found was that of 21-year-old Joselyn Jhoana Toaquiza, the woman’s uncle, Paul Toaquiza, told Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard on Saturday night. Joselyn, who is from Ecuador, misplaced her last year, he said.

On Sunday, police did not confirm that the person killed was Joselyn Toaquiza, saying the department was treating her as a missing person.

“We are also investigating a possible connection between the two incidents,” Sergeant Thomas Blake, a Syracuse police spokesman, said in a statement Sunday.

Police officers searched a wooded area in Lincoln Park near the corner of Hawley Avenue and Mather Street on Saturday evening.

Paul Toaquiza said his niece was reported missing on her birthday Tuesday night after she failed to return home.

She was last seen on video ringing the doorbell of a house on Burnet Avenue.

Doorbell camera footage shows Joselyn entering the Burnet Avenue home with a man. The video was posted online after she disappeared. The footage was taken around 4:20 p.m. on Tuesday.

As the two enter the house, the man opens the door and appears to notice the camera. At 7:15 p.m., the video switches to Joselyn being carried out of the house on the man’s back, her arms and legs wrapped around him. She appears limp and unmoving; it is not possible to tell if she is still alive.

As the man walks toward the street with Joselyn in his arms, a patrol car drives by.

At 7:43 p.m., the camera captures the man returning home without Joselyn. He is seen again – after changing clothes – and getting into a car.

“We are aware of the video that was also posted on Tik Tok,” Blake said, declining to comment further at this time.

The video of the doorbell was posted by an Ecuadorian news account in a Tik Tok video. A family member said that Joselyn can be seen in the video with the man, who was one of her classmates in Ecuador.

The family member said he came from Maryland to visit Joselyn for her birthday.

Paul Toaquiza said Joselyn lived with him, his wife and children on the north side of town. They immigrated from Ecuador last year in search of better economic opportunities.

Editor Darian Stevenson covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Do you have a tip, story idea, question or comment? You can reach her at [email protected]

Editor Fernando Alba covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Do you have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? You can reach him at [email protected].