Cops: Jogger had been strangled

A jogger whose body was found Tuesday morning had been strangled, police announced Wednesday afternoon at a press conference.

Constance Murray, 46, left her Northeast Philadelphia home around 9 p.m. Monday to go for a run and never returned, police said.

Her husband and daughter reported her missing after searching for her, to no avail.

A neighbor walking her dog through Pennypack Park found Murray's body around 6 a.m. Tuesday in a wooded stretch along the 3000 block of Holme Avenue.

She alerted a SEPTA bus driver who was on break in the area. The driver used his cell phone to call 911, police said.

Medics pronounced Murray dead on the scene shortly before 6:30 a.m.

Autopsy results released Wednesday revealed Murray was strangled, Capt. James Clark, of the Philadelphia police Homicide Unit, told reporters at the news conference. Her death was ruled a homicide.

Murray was not sexually assaulted, Clark said. He said the Medical Examiner noted only minor bruising and did not find evidence indicating much of a struggle took place.

Investigators have established no motive for the crime, and no suspects have yet been named.

Though the cell phone and headphones Murray was wearing when she went missing have not been recovered, it's not yet clear whether they were taken or simply fell into the brush during the attack, police said.

Detectives are continuing to comb the area for the missing phone, as well as for witnesses and surveillance video.

Anyone with information about the crime is asked to contact the Homicide Unit at 215-686-3334 or 3335.