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12/22/2024 03:56:06 pm

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New Jersey Woman Freezes To Death Near Her Home

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(Photo : Reuters) A man makes his commute after a night of snow in Jersey City, New Jersey, February 14, 2014. Forecasters had warned the public against the bitterly cold weather over the weekend.

A woman from New Jersey was found outside her home Sunday morning - frozen, lifeless.

Officials said a neighbor found 66-year-old Olivia Benito lying on the snow at around 7 a.m. She was pronounced dead by a medical team who rushed to the scene.

New Jersey's temperatures plunged into single digits over the weekend, raising the risks of getting a frostbite or hypothermia.

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Police said Benito went out to drink with a neighbor after attending a benefit event at an Elks Club in Lakewood, New Jersey.  

She left the friend's house around midnight and decided to walk home, which was about two doors away.  But Benito never made it to her home in Davids Court, Lakewood.

Lakewood police responded to a 911 call by Benito's neighbor who had found her unconscious near a car.  She was found face down in the snow.

"This morning at approximately 7:04 a.m. the neighbor went out to clean off her car and found the decedent face down in the snow," Ocean County Prosecutor's Office spokesman Al Della Fave said.

"She attempted aid, dialed 911 and alerted the victim's husband. The husband was under the assumption that his wife had decided to sleep at the neighbor's home." Della Fave added.

Initial investigation revealed Benito could have tripped, fallen and frozen to death.

Reports, however, did not reveal the woman's cause of death.

But police did not find any signs of trauma or foul play.  Authorities have yet to release the woman's autopsy report.

The National Weather Service had recorded the temperature at 7 a.m., Sunday in the Lakewood area at 10 degrees.

Forecasters had warned the public against the bitterly cold weather.

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