SCRANTON -- In her wedding picture, Kathleen Talerico looks full of hope for the future, but that promise came to a tragic end, when police found her dead inside her home on Orchard Street in Scranton.
"She would wave, she was nice. It's just so sad," said neighbor Sandy Reed.
Prosecutors have charged her on-again off-again boyfriend, Ryan McNamara, with homicide. Investigators said the pair was at a New Year's Eve party in Dickson City when McNamara allegedly grabbed the victim by her neck, threw her to the floor, and punched her in the face.
However, Kathleen Talerico was still alive around noon on New Year's Day after a friend she stayed with overnight and brought her home. Police said two days later, a man shoveling snow noticed the door open and called a neighbor who found the body.
According to an autopsy, the 45-year-old woman died from bleeding on the brain.
Officials have not said whether medical treatment in the hours after the fight might have saved her.
"That makes it even more sad really, as tragic as it is, it seems like she could have been saved if she made it to the hospital or if somebody took her," said neighbor Damian Grayek.
Several family members who answered the door said they were too emotional to speak on camera, but said they want Talerico to be remembered as a beautiful person who worked for 20 years as a domestic relations officer for Lackawanna County.
According to court papers, McNamara was accused of assaulting Talarico on January 9, 2013. She recently withdrew an order of protection because she wanted to resume the relationship.
"He was arrested in the summertime for beating her up also. She had just released the PFA, so that is a shame," said Sandy Reed.