By Dan Morse
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 9, 2008

The Maryland state medical examiner's office has ruled that a 63-year-old woman found dead in her Bethesda home last week was slain, Montgomery County police said yesterday.

Police declined to say how Mary Frances Havenstein was killed but said she died of "multiple injuries." A relative found Havenstein's body Thursday morning in the house on Seven Locks Road, where she lived alone.

Police continue to examine whether her 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.

Police said in a news release yesterday that a link is a "strong possibility." But conclusively establishing a connection could be difficult because it is unlikely that there was a witness to the latest home invasion, a police spokeswoman said.

"On an investigative level, we may never be able to link" the most recent incident with the others, said Montgomery County police spokeswoman Lucille Baur.

Investigators are trying to put together a timeline of Havenstein's last days. Police said the last verified sighting of her was between 4:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. Tuesday in Rockville, Baur said. Police asked that anyone who had contact with Havenstein since then call detectives at 240-773-5070.

A car believed to have been stolen from Havenstein was recovered Thursday night in the Takoma Park area. The cream-colored 2006 Cadillac was found on Forston Street at University Boulevard East, police said.

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.

The other home-invasion victims ranged in age from their 70s to their 90s. The victims described the assailant as a Hispanic male, based in part on his accent, with a medium build and in his 20s, police have said.