WASHINGTON - Investigators are trying to figure out who strangled a Northwest D.C. woman on Halloween night in her apartment.

Officers were called to an apartment in the 3600 block of 16th Street on Monday night after Nori Amaya's brother found her lifeless body. The brother had become concerned after no one had heard from her since Halloween, and went to check on her.

Amaya, 38, and her brother bought the thriving Coppi's restaurant several years ago. The restaurant remains open for business, but her employees are struggling with the murder of their boss.

"She was a wonderful person, always eager to please everybody, everybody," said Darren Santos, who manages Coppi's Restaurant. "Tragic, it's horrible. I can't believe things like this still happen in the city."

Friends say Amaya loved to dance and go out. They say she went out Saturday night, but investigators say she did not have a costume on when they found her body.

"I just heard this morning; I got goose bumps," said Hasna Farouidi, who manages the Utopia Restaurant, which is next to Coppi's. "I just don't know what else to say."

Amaya had became a fixture in the neighborhood. Those who were familiar with her smiling face are trying to understand how this could happen.

"I'm shocked," said Tom Sarobon, a local store owner. "I just cant believe she is gone."

At Amaya's apartment building, neighbors worry and hope for a quick arrest.

"It's really been going downhill lately, the building," said Jean Meall. "They are letting people in who should be screened."

Investigators say there were no signs of forced entry at Amaya's apartment. Investigators say they are looking into several scenarios, including the possibility Amaya did not know her killer.

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