Cops release NT woman's cause of death

NORTH TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) - Police have released the cause of death of a 34-year-old woman who was found dead inside a Lincoln Avenue home last week.  According to North Tonawanda Police, Heather Rylowicz died from “blunt and sharp force trauma to the head and neck area.”

The North Tonawanda Police Chief tells News 4 that Rylowicz was stabbed and hit with an object.

On Saturday, police located Rylowicz’s boyfriend 32-year-old Brian Lowry. After interviewing him, they charged him  with second-degree murder.

Two weeks ago, the mail at Rylowicz’s home started piling up. Her car also went missing. Her next door neighbor eventually started feeling as if something wasn’t right.

"I feel bad now that I didn't go over sooner. But I just thought, maybe - 'cause I didn't hear her dog at all. So I figured, the dog wasn't there. Maybe something happened with her family. [But] I came home on Wednesday, and it just seemed... something was just bothering me. And then I heard the dog howling, so I rang the doorbell. And then the dog came down and was jumping in the window, so I knew there was something not right,” said next-door neighbor Jackie Rogge.

Police are looking for Rylowicz’s car. It’s a green Ford Taurus station wagon. Anyone with information on the murder or the car, call North Tonawanda Police at 692-4312.