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Strip club dancer killed outside her Everett apartment

E-mail|Link October 2, 2009 07:19 PM

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

A dancer was attacked and killed outside her Everett apartment building early this morning, shortly after she finished work at a strip club in Stoughton, authorities said.

Sheila Santos (hi5.com)

The bloody body of Sheila Santos, 26, was found near the back entrance of her brick apartment building on Main Street. Investigators believe she was killed shortly after leaving work at 1:15 a.m. at Alex's in Stoughton, putting her time of death between 1:30 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. At an afternoon press conference, Middlesex District Attorney Gerald T. Leone Jr. would not say how Santos had been killed or speculate about a motive.

"I don't want to characterize what we are thinking at this time," Leone said. "The investigation is narrowing as we speak and we fully expect it to be a successful homicide investigation."

Santos's grief-stricken friends described her as a native of Brazil who had at least two sisters living in the area. Santos had an active social life in the local Brazilian community.

"She didn't have any enemies," said one friend, Allen Sousa. "She was very happy, always smiling."

Santos's body was discovered at 4:32 a.m. Neighbors described a grisly scene in the rear parking lot behind the apartment building, which remained undisturbed for several hours as police collected evidence. The woman lay face down at the rear entryway with her left arm above her head as if she was reaching for the door. Covered in blood, the woman wore only her left boot. Her keys and her pocketbook sat nearby, neighbors said.

The rear parking lot is extremely well-lit at night, neighbors said. Two floodlights and a light above the rear entryway were visible today.

At this afternoon's press conference, Leone said that Everett police planned to saturate the neighborhood where Santos was killed. Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call the Everett Police Department at 617-394-2356.