Unanswered questions after 'nervous' mum found dead next to bloody iron in hotel

13 February 2024 , 01:00

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Denisse Oleas-Arancibia, aged 38, was found dead in the hotel room (Image: facebook/@New York Daily News)

A heartbroken son has spoken of his shock after his mum, who seemed "nervous" just days before, was found dead next to a bloody iron in a hotel room.

Denisse Oleas-Arancibia, 38, was tragically discovered by a hotel maid in her £80-per-night room at the Soho54 Hotel in New York City. Police rushed to the scene and sadly, she was pronounced dead on site by medics. No arrests have been made yet, and the investigation is ongoing, according to the police. Her suspicious death was highlighted by her son's comments to a news outlet, prompting a number of unanswered questions surrounding the woman's death.

Edwin Cevallos, the woman's shocked 18 year old son, noted her unusual behaviour in the week leading up to her sad demise. "In the week [before], she was like, sad. She was so nervous, and she was worried,'" a distraught Mr. Cevallos shared in Spanish, although he could not confirm whether this related to her untimely death.

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"I am in shock. I can't believe this happened. This is surprising," Cevallos continued, "Everything here in New York reminds me of her. Everything." Living in a flat in Queens with her hardworking son and young nephew, neighbours said Ms. Oleas-Arancibia was always striving to provide for them. "My mum, she worked very hard. She was always working for us to give us the best life in this country."

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The 18 year old lad waited for his mum to come down on Thursday morning, but when she didn't appear, he called the police around 1pm. The police arrived at his home and shared the heartbreaking news of her death. Denisse had moved from Ecuador to America five years ago and had been living in New York for the last couple of years to be near her son. "She wanted a better life because in Ecuador is a lot of bad people. It was so dangerous,' Edwin said. "She gave us the life that we always wanted.'

On Wednesday morning, the mum made breakfast for her son and paid for him to get a haircut. She told him: "Goodbye, I love you," as he left for school that day and gave him the sign of the cross. Edwin added: "I want (people to know) that she was always helping people. She was a very good person. She never hurt anybody. She was always paying for everything. She never owed money to anybody. She was always looking to help them move forward."

The cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner, but authorities are treating her death as a homicide. The mum had a cut on her head that detectives believe could be from blunt force trauma.

Yelena Mandenberg