Dead Woman Found in Jamaica Pond Was Not Victim of a Crime, Police Say

Police are not treating the discovery of a woman's body in Jamaica Pond as a criminal incident.

"The investigation is a non-homicide," said Boston Police Officer Nicole Grant.

That can mean an accidental or natural death or a suicide. A formal finding of cause and manner of death will be made after an autopsy. Those rulings often take weeks or months to become final.

No weapons were found near the body and foul play isn't suspected.

The many runners and dog walkers who circulate Jamaica Pond each morning .

Police say they . A witness .

"I thought it was a mannequin," said Reuben, of Roslindale, who declined to give his last name.

But they soon saw that it was the body of an older white woman, face down. They flagged down a person who had a cell phone and called police.

Police say the body is that of a female of unknown age. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

It is possible the case could eventually be ruled a suicide. While Patch generally does not cover suicides, when they cause a large, public police presence we try to explain what the police activity is about.

Police cordoned off a wide area around the body. The corpse was at the tip of land on the Perkins Street side of the Pond. For people walking only along the Jamaicaway side of the Pond, the scene was not visible.

In the photos that accompany this post, the body is under a white covering.

Life went on as usual around most of the Pond as people fished, skipped stones and let their dogs swim. People walking or running the circuit around the Pond, however, had to either turn around or make a wider loop around the police zone.

Previous JP Patch coverage of this incident:

Want to know the moment big fire and police news happens? Sign up for breaking news alerts from JP Patch.