Juliana Maureen Redding was found at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday after police received a call from the young woman's mother who had been unable to reach her daughter for days.
Police are not releasing details of how Redding died. They will not say if a weapon was involved or if the suspect forced their way into Redding's apartment.
Police do believe that Redding lived alone. Neighbors say that Juliana was a very attractive woman who had moved to the Southland from Arizona to be a model and an actress.
One neighbor said that Redding had been living in her Santa Monica apartment for just a few months.
Another neighbor told Eyewitness News that she had plans to go out with Redding on Sunday night, but was unable to reach her.
"That same night we were suppose to go out and play pool, but we thought that she might already be out because her lights were off. We didn't call her. We tried the next day, but she did not pick up her phone," said Sury Nunez, victim's neighbor.
"Right now we are still trying to contact the family to get more information about her. We are trying to get information about people she associated with, so we can continue to conduct this investigation," said Lt. Alex Padilla, Santa Monica Police Department.
Police say that their investigation is in the early stages. If anyone has any information they are urged to call the Santa Monica Department at 310-458-8427.
