Authorities To Canvass Area Where Winston-Salem Homicide Victim Was Found

Investigators are stepping up their efforts to find out what happened to a Winston-Salem woman who was beaten and left for dead in a park in May. Authorities will go door-to-door in the neighborhood near the 300 block of Northwest Boulevard, asking if anyone has information on the death of Ella Crawley.

She was found severely injured in Gateway Commons Park on the morning of May 23. She died the next day. Crawley was 50. A medical examiner determined she had been beaten and strangled. Police believe she may also have been sexually assaulted.

The search involves local law enforcement agencies as well as people in the community. 

Crawley was Black, and her death occurred just as protesters across the country began taking to the streets to speak out against violence involving African-American victims.

One of the first demonstrations in Winston-Salem took place in the park where Crawley was found. Though most protests are focusing on deaths involving police, Crawley's homicide became part of the discussion, and speakers vowed then that her death would not be forgotten.