DEAD BODY IDENTIFIED AS DELRAY WOMAN

Death of woman, 33, being investigated as a homicide.

DELRAY BEACH — The woman found dead Tuesday in a community garden was a 33-year-old aspiring actress and model, according to an online profile.

The Delray Beach Police Department on Wednesday identified Jennifer Salcito as the woman found in Frog Alley Community Garden. The death is being investigated as a homicide, police said. It is the city’s fifth confirmed homicide in 2018 and Palm Beach County’s 48th, according to a Palm Beach Post database.

Salcito’s online Explore Talent profile described her as a fun-loving, bubbly person. In it, she wrote she wanted to be “the next big star.”

A neighbor of the garden on Southwest Fourth Avenue noticed a smell and called the city Tuesday. Salcito appeared to be dead for a few days, a police spokeswoman said.

Detectives went door-todoor Wednesday with a flyer of Salcito, asking for information in the area around the community garden. The garden remained cordoned off Wednesday as police continued their investigation. Officers wearing surgical masks, gloves and goggles worked under a tent as they examined the scene where Salcito was found.

Family members of Salcito reached by phone declined comment.

A woman, who asked only to be identified as Pauline, has lived in the neighborhood for a year and began caring for a plot in the garden about four months ago. In addition to tending to her jalapeño peppers and tomatoes, Pauline also is one of several neighbors who feed feral cats that live in the garden.

After what happened this week, Pauline said she feels nervous going to the garden alone. “Now I don’t feel like I can go back and feed the cats there anymore, at least not by myself,” she said.

Anyone with information about Salcito’s death can call Detective Mike Shiner at 561243-7828 or Crime Stoppers of Palm Beach County at 800458-TIPS (8477).