Body Found in NYC Skyscraper ID'd

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NEW YORK (July 13) - A body found in a skyscraper's air-conditioning duct was officially identified Monday by the city's medical examiner as that of a missing cleaning woman.

Police found the body of Eridania Rodriguez on Saturday after discovering blood leaking from a ventilation shaft at the building near the World Trade Center.

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Missing Women Cases

Eridania Rodriguez: The cleaning woman, 46, was last seen on the night of July 7 working in a skyscraper near the World Trade Center reconstruction site in New York. The medical examiner confirmed Monday a body found in an air conditioning vent in the building was hers. She had been bound and gagged with a gold crucifix taped to her mouth, police said.

NYPD / AP

She had been bound and gagged and had a gold crucifix taped to her mouth, police said.

Her identity was confirmed Monday, said the medical examiner's spokeswoman, Ellen Borakove. An autopsy determined that Rodriguez asphyxiated by tape applied to her head and face.

Police said the investigation remains open and that no arrests have been made.

Rodriguez, 46, was the mother of three and the sister of professional bodybuilder Victor Martinez. She had been missing since last Tuesday. Security videotape showed her entering an elevator at the 26-story Manhattan tower at about 7 p.m. Her body was discovered on the 12th floor, her cleaning cart on the eighth.

Her hands had been tied behind her back, and her feet and mouth bound, police said. The crucifix was dangling by her mouth, the necklace possibly caught under the tape.

Security was enhanced at the building, at 2 Rector St., following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Guards are in the lobby 24 hours a day and cameras cover all exits.

Tenants in the building near ground zero include architect Daniel Libeskind, who created the master plan to redevelop the trade center site.

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Eye on the News

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Herbert Knosowski, AP

Eye on the News

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2009-07-13 21:58:27