The death of a woman in a 55+ community in Lakewood has been deemed suspicious, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.

The woman’s name has not been released, but neighbors say that she lived in the home for at least four years. They say that she was quiet, calm and kind.

“When we heard about it last night, we were in shock. We couldn’t believe something like this could happen so brutally bad – and to a woman,” says Leisure Village resident Georgiana Frazier.

According to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, the woman’s body was found inside her home on Thornbury Court on Tuesday during a wellness check.

“We assisted her. She needed some help, so my daughter and I would help her with her groceries, things like that,” says neighbor Luanne Desy.

Neighbors say she lived in the home with her two cats. She had separated from a man she was in a relationship with.

“He wasn’t living there. She owned the home, she threw him out,” says neighbor George Figueroa.

Figueroa claims the man came back and started to threaten the woman.

“Police came a first time. He was trying to get through a window and the neighbor next door saw the man with a gun…they locked him up,” Figueroa says.

He says that this incident happened about three months ago.

The woman’s exact cause of death has not been released. It was unclear if any arrests had been made.