Man arrested after South Florida woman fatally stabbed while jogging in nation's capital

Wendy Martinez, 35, got engaged week before killing

WASHINGTON ā€“ Police have arrested a suspect in the case of a South Florida woman who was stabbed to death while jogging in the nation's capital.

"There is a hole in our hearts that will never be replaced," Wendy Martinez's friend, Kristina Moore, said.Ā 

Martinez's friends spoke for the 35-year-oldā€™s family Thursday, just two days after Martinez had beenĀ fatally stabbed while jogging in Washington. Ā 

"I was texting with her two hours before her murder. I mean, this has just been a shock, hard to believe," Moore said.Ā 

Martinez grew up in South Florida. She graduated from Lake Worth High School and then went to the University of Florida and Florida Atlantic University before getting her master's degree at Georgetown University.

Police said she was jogging in the Logan Circle neighborhood Tuesday night when she was stabbed by a man, without provocation.

She stumbled into a Chinese restaurant, desperate for help.

"While people acted quickly, including our emergency responders, to try to help Wendy, she succumbed to her injuries,"Ā Mayor Muriel Bowser said.Ā 

Just about a day and a half after her death, police announced they had arrested a suspect, Anthony Crawford, 23, on a first-degree murder charge.

The arrest provides some relief to Martinezā€™s family and friends, but now they must plan her funeral just days after she and her fiance got engaged.

"She was just engaged last week,"Ā Moore said. "Wendy should have been shopping for her wedding dress on Friday."


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