Miami Police are investigating after a woman was found murdered on a sidewalk Tuesday morning.
The woman's body was found around 2:30 a.m. in the area of Northwest 17th Street and 7th Avenue.
Police identified the woman as Lavita Anthony, 51, also known as Sharon on the street. It's believed she may have been beaten to death, but police haven't confirmed how she was killed.
The woman was homeless and witnesses said she had been involved in an argument with a man before she was killed.
Sharon went to the nearby Camillus House homeless shelter for about 15 years. The organization's president and CEO, Paul Ahr, knew her well.
"She was a regular. We would see her all the time and basically lived with us for quite a while,” he said.
Sharon would go back and forth from Chicago, but employees at the Camillus House said she wanted to move back north to be closer to her family.
Her family at the Camillus House was upset that she wasn't there early Monday morning where she would've been safe.
"Given the choice, we'd rather shelter the homeless than bury the dead and I think that in this case we'll have to do the latter,” Ahr said.
Police are asking anyone with information to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.
