Dead Woman's Cadillac Is Found

Tied-Up Body Was Discovered in Bethesda Home Half a Day Before

A car believed to have been stolen from a 63-year-old woman who was found dead this week in her Bethesda home has been recovered in Takoma Park, Montgomery County police said yesterday.

Mary Frances Havenstein's cream-colored 2006 Cadillac was found Thursday night on Forston Street at University Boulevard East, police said, less than 12 hours after a relative discovered Havenstein dead in her home in the 8900 block of Seven Locks Road.

Police said they were continuing to examine whether Havenstein's death is linked to five home invasions in affluent areas in the past year, one in Northwest Washington and the others in Montgomery, from Potomac to Chevy Chase. None of the victims in those cases was critically injured, but each was bound, as Havenstein was, and one was not discovered for two days.

Investigators are trying to determine when Havenstein was last seen alive. Police ask that anyone who had contact with Havenstein since Monday call detectives at 240-773-5070. Investigators are also interested in hearing from anyone who might have seen her vehicle this week or might have information about suspicious activity near her home.

Havenstein's death has stunned her neighbors and prompted police to urge residents to lock their doors and windows and to report suspicious vehicles and activity.

Police officials have declined to provide details about Havenstein's death, saying only that they consider it suspicious. The state medical examiner's office will determine the cause and manner of her death, as well as the approximate time.

The home-invasion victims range in age from 70s to 90s. They described the assailant as a Hispanic man, based in part on his accent, police have said. The victims described him as being of medium build and in his 20s.