Death of young woman in Bucks County being investigated as homicide
Maria Popol, whose 23rd birthday was on Saturday, was found dead early Sunday by police in Telford Borough, Bucks County.
The death of a young woman in Telford Borough is being investigated as a homicide, the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office said Thursday.
Telford Borough police responded Sunday morning to a 911 call for an unresponsive person in an apartment on the 100 block of North Main Street, the district attorney’s office said.
Police found the body of Maria Popol, of Telford, and following an autopsy conducted earlier this week, the Bucks County Coroner’s Office ruled the manner of death as homicide.
No other details of the homicide investigation, including the cause of death, were released.
The apartment is located above Frida’s Mexican Taqueria. A person answering the phone at the restaurant on Thursday declined to comment.
The coroner’s office confirmed that Popol’s 23rd birthday was on Saturday, March 14.
Popol’s family last heard from her on March 6, and she was last seen in a video from a doorbell security camera on March 7 carrying luggage while she was moving into a new residence, her brother, Rolando Popol, said in a statement.
She had been living with a man in the apartment above the restaurant, but had decided to move, her brother said. The relationship had allegedly been abusive.
Her full name was María Bernarda Popol Guerra, her brother said. She came to the United States from Guatemala in 2023 to work and provide for her ill parents back home.
“She had come to this country hoping for a better life,” he said, describing her as “very affectionate, kind, and patient.”
She last spoke to her mother on March 6, he said.
Saturday, March 7, “was the last time she was seen in her new apartment, leaving her belongings. From March 7th onward, her family tried to contact her, but they had no further news until days later when she was found dead,” her brother said.
A GoFundMe was created for Popol so her body could be returned to her parents in Guatemala.
Anyone with information on the case can contact Bucks County detectives at 215-348-6354 and Telford Borough detectives at 215-723-6700.