A husband screamed for help early yesterday when he returned home to his quiet Baltimore County neighborhood to find his wife lying dead in a pool of blood behind the front door.
Police said 38-year-old Olga Gregorian Sexton had been stabbed to death in the three-story Garrison townhouse with a knife that was found under her body -- but exactly when she was killed and who was responsible remained a mystery last night.
Authorities received a 911 emergency call at 1:28 a.m. after William Sexton, a Phillips Restaurant chain manager, awakened a neighbor in the McDonogh Township development in the first block of Hamlet Drive.
Mitchell Greenberg, the next-door neighbor, said he heard his doorbell ringing and found a panicked and hysterical Mr. Sexton outside, screaming for help.
"I went downstairs and heard someone screaming, 'Help. Help. Call the police. She's dead. She's dead,' " said Mr. Greenberg, a Baltimore lawyer and friend of the Sextons. "When I saw that it was him, I called the police and went outside to see what happened. All he could say was that he came home and found her in a pool of blood."
Police found no sign of forced entry or ransacking, no apparent motive for the slaying, and no suspect last night, said Capt. Brian A. Uppercue, a county police spokesman.
However, Mrs. Sexton's wallet was found by a passer-by about 5:40 p.m. yesterday in a parking lot in the 2600 block of Taylor Ave. in Parkville. Police said her purse was missing from the crime scene.
Mrs. Sexton's Mazda RX7 automobile was towed from her home to police headquarters in Towson to be examined for clues.
"Why would anyone do anything like that?" Mr. Greenberg said of the killing. "She was a very, very friendly lady who always had a smile for everyone. It's sad."
Neighbors said Mrs. Sexton, known for walking her tiny dog, Benji, through the community, would be missed. An avid gardener and former employee of the Phillips restaurants, Mrs. Sexton had hoped to buy a new house with her husband.
"They spoke so highly of each other all the time," Mr. Greenberg said. "They had talked about how they wanted to buy a house on a big piece of land because they wanted big dogs. It's really unbelievable."
Mr. Sexton, 42, a manager of the Phillips Seafood Bar and Grill in White Marsh Mall, was questioned by police and later released. He could not be reached yesterday.
Neighbors told police they saw an Oldsmobile with New York plates parked near the home the evening before the killing.
Anyone with information was asked to call police at 887-2198.
