Woman found dead in pool of blood had been shot, police say

Police are investigating the shooting death of a 59-year-old East Germantown woman whose son reported finding her in a pool of blood in a bedroom Sunday morning.

Officers responding to a call for a “hospital case” discovered Gwendolyn Fuller bleeding from her neck and chest in the second-floor bedroom of her home on the 5900 block of North Norwood Street, police said.

An initial police report Sunday listed the case as a “death investigation,” with no apparent cause stated. On Monday, police said the woman had been shot. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

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According to police, Fuller’s son, whose name was not released, found his mother’s body when he returned home Sunday morning and called 911.

Police said the preliminary investigation indicated the son had last talked to his mother on Saturday afternoon.

No weapon was found. Homicide detectives were continuing to investigate Monday.

Fuller became Philadelphia’s 353rd homicide victim of 2019, which matched the city’s total for last year.

Neighbors set up a makeshift memorial for Fuller on the porch of her home. One woman, who declined to give her name, said that Fuller was well-liked in the neighborhood, “like a sister” to many people. The loss, the woman said, was devastating.

Staff writer Vinny Vella contributed to this article.