"Well obviously there was an altercation that took place inside which caused the death of the female," said Det. Pjai Morris, LAPD.
Police say that the woman's daughter, who is a college student at Loyola Marymount, had been unable to reach her mother Thursday night.
She asked a friend to go over to the house and check on her and that is when the friend made the discovery.
"The daughter called a friend to tell her that she had been trying to reach her mother, but she was not answering the phone. She asked her if she would go over and check on her mother. When she arrived she went inside and discovered the deceased inside," said Detective Morris.
"We are a little concerned right now because this sort of thing doesn't happen up here. They are a nice family and the kids are nice. They seem very normal all the way around," said Steven Wonn, a neighbor.
Neighbors say that the mother lived with her husband and their son who is in his 20s. They say that her husband had left to go to Trinidad to visit family. The son is still in town.
Police say no one was home when the murdered occurred and the son is nowhere to be found.
One neighbor says that she found the son to be unusual and it appeared that he did not do much.
"I just thought because he is in his mid-20s and still living at home that he really didn't work. He played in a band or wanted to be in a band. His friends would come over. I would hear music and they would he jamming on the drums," said a concerned neighbor.
Members of the victim's family arrived at the crime scene Friday morning. Police are hoping to get more information. At this time they are not calling the son a suspect.
"He is a family member and he is someone we want to talk to. We actually want to talk to all of the family members, the daughter, the husband and other family relatives. At this point we are not singling out anybody," said Detective Morris.
Residents are shocked because nothing like this has ever happened before.
"I found out when I took my son to daycare. I had no clue and I was so scared last night. I didn't even want to get out of the house," said Nora Torre, a neighbor.
Authorities say that the father is on his way back from Trinidad.
Anyone with information is urged to call the LAPD at (213) 485-2563.
Eyewitness News reporter Subha Ravindhran and Carlos Granda contributed to this report.
