Breast Implants Used To I.D. Murdered Harbor Woman
Victim's Daughter, 17, Sought For Questioning
(CBS) NEWPORT BEACH A woman whose body was found floating in Newport Harbor was identified Thursday and her daughter, 17, was sought for questioning, police said.
Barbara Mullenix, 56, was stabbed to death in her Huntington Beach condominium at 16962 Westwood St. before her body was wrapped in a blanket and dumped in the harbor, Huntington Beach police Capt. Dan Johnson said.
She lived in the condominium with her daughter and her ex-husband, he said. "We did question the ex-husband," Johnson said. "He was out of the area in Northern California the last couple of nights. He's not considered a suspect at this time."
"We would like to talk to the 17-year-old daughter," he added. "We're not releasing her name, however, we do need to speak with her. We want to make sure she's OK."
He said that once police entered the condominium Thursday afternoon, "it became immediately apparent to us that this is where the crime occurred."
Michele Gile reports that police used an unusual method to I.D. the victim who was not carrying any forms of identification when found -- they used the serial numbers off her breast implants.
Crime scene investigators were expected to remain at the condominium into the weekend to process evidence.
"Some of (the evidence is) difficult to process," Johnson said. "The traditional method of gathering fingerprints won't work, so they're using a process where they put a gas in one of the rooms. They lock that room up for about 24 hours. And that develops the prints in hard-to-find places, and then they develop those prints.
Johnson said the woman was "killed sometime earlier this week." He pointed out that she was found Wednesday afternoon, and that the coroner has not said how long the body was in the water.
The woman's body was found in water adjacent to the Newport Harbor Yacht Club, Hartford said.
Bloody bedding was recovered from a trash bin owned by the yacht club in a public alley that ends at the water, Hartford said.
The trash bin is not in a secured area, he said.
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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