Person of interest in custody in Hobart strangulation case

A person of interest has been taken into custody in connection with the killing of a 38-year-old woman whose body was found last week at a northwest Indiana motel, according to Hobart police.

Officers found April Bernal-Salazar dead about 2 p.m. March 15 at the Keywest Inn motel, located at 1855 Mississippi St. in Hobart, according to police and the Lake County Coroner’s Office.

An autopsy Monday found she was strangled and her death was ruled a homicide, authorities said. She lived in Wheatfield, Indiana.

An anonymous tip the day after her body was found led investigators to her vehicle in the 4800 block of Grant Street in Gary, Indiana, police said.

A person of interest in her death was taken into custody and was being held on a parole violation, police said Thursday.

The homicide investigation was ongoing.