‘Nice, kind, sweet ... just a friendly person’

Stamford woman’s death ruled homicide

STAMFORD — The April death of a woman described as “always happy” is now being investigated as a homicide, police said.

Lt. Tom Scanlon said Hawley Jenkins, 56, was found dead in her home in the Stamford Manor apartment complex on Main Street during a welfare check on April 18.

The state medical examiner has determined Hawley died of “blunt head trauma and neck compression,” Scanlon said, and the death has been ruled a homicide.

Jenkins was a Greenwich native who had been living in Stamford in recent years.

Yvette Tyson, a close friend, said Jenkins was known for the broad smile that she always had on her face.

“She was always happy,” she said.

Tyson said she and Jenkins would hang out together in downtown Stamford every day. It was in downtown Stamford, at the train station, where Tyson said she last saw Jenkins on April 17 — the day before Jenkins was found dead.

Tyson said Jenkins was in “good spirits.”

“She just loved everybody, literally anyone who came into contact with Hawley. That’s just who she was, a nice, kind, sweet and trusting person. She was just a friendly person,” Tyson said.

According to her obituary, Jenkins was “known for her big heart and kind soul which endeared her to everyone.”

“Hawley expressed a love for all living creatures; she specifically held an extra adoration for horses and cats,” the obituary read.

Jenkins also “possessed a passion for music and fitness, and “enjoyed working as a personal trainer,” the obituary said.

Jenkins’ death is still under investigation, Scanlon said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Stamford Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit at 203-977-4421. Sgt. Jen Lynch is the investigation supervisor.