Death of Duxbury, Massachusetts woman found at bottom of staircase in Connecticut home ruled a homicide

The death of a Duxbury, Massachusetts woman has been ruled a homicide months after her body was found inside a Connecticut home under suspicious circumstances. 

This week, the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined the cause of death for Janina Brooke Murphy to be blunt force injury of head and the manner, homicide.

Brooke Murphy, as she is referred to by her mother, was found at the bottom of a staircase in March inside the Burlington, Connecticut home where she was living. At the time, Connecticut State Police called the 26-year-old's death suspicious.

"Another detective got on the phone. He said, 'I want you to know something. Your daughter didn't just fall down the stairs. She had wounds all over her,'" Brooke's mother, Beth Murphy, told WBZ. 

With the homicide determination, Beth Murphy says, she is even more determined to seek justice for her daughter.

"It's confirmed, it wasn't an accident. So that part, really, that's tough," Murphy said.

Murphy described her daughter as kind and artistic. 

"So many people said she was my best friend. Like, pretty much everybody said Brooke was my best friend. She had a heart of gold," Murphy said.

Brooke Murphy's 27th birthday fell on June 17. Connecticut State Police said they are continuing to actively investigate the circumstances surrounding her death.