Manatee woman found slain in bedroom
BRIAN BLANCO
Investigators from the Manatee County Sheriff's Office work a crime scene in the 1200 block of 67th Street NW in Bradenton late Wednesday. BRIAN BLANCO/bblanco@bradenton.com By BETH BURGER
bburger@bradenton.com
MANATEE --She was a quiet, slender woman whom neighbors described as friendly and trusting.
She was a retired nurse who loved her cats.
But Wednesday afternoon, she became something else: the third homicide victim in Manatee County this year.
Janice Fore, 74, was found slain in her bedroom in her home in the 1200 block of 67th Street Northwest.
Her neighbors in Northwest Bradenton stood outside in shock Wednesday evening as yellow crime scene tape marked off the street.
"She was a good lady. God bless her," said Sam Roby, a neighbor who crossed himself as he sat on the front stoop of his home. "I just got used to her. She would pick me up when I was down."
Roby, who has lived in the neighborhood for a little over a year, had coffee with Fore just about every morning. He never dreamed this would happen to his friend.
"We talked about anything," he said. "She was a top notch lady."
Fore didn't show up for coffee Wednesday morning.
Her garage door was left open, showing chests and bookshelves with her belongings.
The side door to the garage was left slightly cracked for three kittens to come and go, Roby said.
"I went inside the garage and the kittens looked fine," he said.
He waited for about 30 minutes before deciding Fore had left to run errands.
A couple of months ago, there were about 26 cats Fore cared for that mostly lived outdoors. About 20 of them disappeared and neighbors said parts of their bodies were found scattered on the street.
"She loved them. Any cat that came by, she felt it was her duty to feed them," Roby said.
As of 9 p.m., county officials were going to take the cats to animal control because no one could be found to care for them.
Larry Garren, 52, who lives directly across the street from Fore's home said he woke up at 6 a.m. to make coffee when he saw her car speeding out of the driveway and heading down the street.
"I knew when Janice leaves the house, the garage door always went down. I thought it had to have been an emergency," he said.
The car, a green Volkswagen convertible, was found abandoned about 10:30 p.m. in the 2400 block of State Road 64 East. Investigators will review surveillance tape from a nearby business for evidence.
Garren, who has lived in his home for about 18 years, said the neighborhood is quiet and the neighbors are close.
"Nothing like this happens in this neighborhood. She didn't deserve this," he said.
Fore, whose husband died several years ago, lived alone but was often checked on by neighbors.
She celebrated her birthday Tuesday night with neighbors over dinner.
Authorities responded to the woman's home at 5:40 p.m. after someone found her personal papers and checks in a box Cielo Apartments in the 6900 block of Manatee Avenue. When the man couldn't reach Fore, he contacted authorities.
Authorities are declining to say how Fore was killed. An autopsy will be performed by the medical examiner's office.
"This is a quiet neighborhood," sheriff's office spokesman Dave Bristow said. "One thing that will be asked is, 'should people feel safe?' That's a tough thing to ask right now. We don't know. People need to keep their doors locked and protect themselves any way they normally do.
"A majority of our homicides are domestics or drug-related," he said. "This doesn't fit that criteria."
Anyone with any information is asked to call the sheriff's office at 747-3011 or Crimestoppers at (866) 634-TIPS.
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Third Bradenton Homicide (N.W. Bradenton)
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