On Thursday morning, the lifeless body of Tracy Henman, a 43-year-old woman, was discovered in her Lincoln, Nebraska apartment. Her family had alerted authorities after being unable to reach her for several days.
Using a key provided by her concerned relatives, police entered the apartment and found Henman with a neck injury, as reported by the Lincoln Journal Star. The grim discovery led to the arrest of a 40-year-old man who was present at the scene.
The suspect was taken into custody without resistance but required medical attention for injuries to his face, neck, and arms. Police have not detailed the nature of these injuries or provided further information about Henman’s condition. Though his injuries were not deemed life-threatening, he remains hospitalized as of Friday.
Authorities are withholding the suspect’s identity until he is released from the hospital and formally charged. Details about Henman’s death remain sparse, including the duration she had been deceased before being found. Assistant Police Chief Jason Stille mentioned that her family had not heard from her for several days.
No other individuals were present in the apartment at the time of the incident. While the suspect and Henman were acquaintances, the exact nature of their relationship has not been disclosed by police.
It’s also not known how long she had been dead when police arrived at the apartment. Family members said it had a been a few days since they’d been able to reach her, Assistant Police Chief Jason Stille said.
Stille said investigators are working on a “number of different elements of this case, including interviewing people who know the victim and the suspect and reviewing evidence,” KOLD reported.
He said that charges against the suspect are awaiting results of an autopsy.
Capt. Ben Miller said Henman had children who also lived at the apartment occasionally, but they were apparently not there on Thursday morning when police arrived, according to the Journal-Star.
“Anytime somebody is found deceased, we would look at murder and the murder charges, but some of that needs to be determined based on the autopsy and then having conversations with the county attorney’s office and marrying that up with the other evidence that we have,” Miller said.
Henman worked for the Hy-Vee grocery store company, where co-workers said she was a beloved employee.
“She was just always so happy and bubbly,” said Blayre Raddock, who worked at a different location but was friends with Henman. “She’d see me walk into the door, she’d get a giant smile and she’d come give me a hug.”
“She had such a big heart and always was happy to see her friends,” Raddock said. “And I know her kids were her everything.”
