June 21, 2009
Jun 21, 2009, 9:18 PM | Updated: Jun 5, 2012, 4:22 am
Police need help in the suspicious death of a Valley woman who was found deceased in an apartment filled with smoke.
On Tuesday March 3, around 3:30 a.m. police officers were flagged down by a taxi driver.
Police Sergeant Darren Burch says the cab driver had seen smoke coming from an apartment complex near Peoria and 15th Avenues.
He went to the apartment where it looked like the smoke was coming from and pounded on the door. There was no response so he ended up kicking in the door and what he found was quite shocking. He found a woman unresponsive lying on the floor.
He tried calling 911 but his cell phone died, so the cabbie ran out to the street and flagged down a passing patrol car.
The officer came inside and found that the woman was actually deceased.
The deceased woman was later identified as Michelle Dominique. Laurie Macleod, Dominique’s sister, says she was a wonderful person.
“It’s my big sister who I loved and who as a kid just always stood up for me. She was always there,” Macleod told KTAR.
Dominique wasn’t just a big sister, she was a mom. Her adult son lives out of state.
“She was very smart, outgoing, funny and you know had quick wit about her,” Macleod said.
Macleod also said Dominique was never a homebody and she loved art and music.
“She just loved being outside,” said Macleod. “She definitely would have preferred a radio over any sort of TV. She loved art, she loved journaling, she was actually very articulate with that, [she] could really express herself well at writing.”
Police are calling her death suspicious. They say the cab driver was a good samaritan who was just trying to help in a very dangerous situation.
Macleod says her and her family feel robbed of a great person.
“Nobody ever deserves to die that way and she didn’t deserve it, her heart was very good and it was very pure,” Macleod said. She did have family that loved and cared for her and we were in her corner and they robbed us, they robbed her and her son.”
Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Silent Witness at (480) WITNESS.
