Alvatyne Thomas

Homicide detectives were investigating after a woman was found dead late Monday in a south St. Louis home, police said. Police conducted a well-being check in the 4000 block of Oregon Avenue in the city's Dutchtown neighborhood just before 10 p.m. Monday. The woman was later identified in court records as 31-year-old Alvatyne Thomas. Police said in a search warrant application that Thomas was found in the first floor of her home and had several puncture wounds on her torso with her hands bound behind her back. She also had a plastic bag covering her head as well as a white t-shirt and black electric cord wrapped around her neck. She was nude from the waist down and had a gray blanket over her head, according to the search warrant application. "I'm aware through prior investigations and training, (that) covering a victim's face is indicative of the perpetrator (having) a personal attachment to the victim," Detective Brandon Wyms wrote.