Police ask for public's help with murder investigation

PLATTSBURGH | As Monique Yanulavich's loved ones now mourn her senseless and tragic death, police are asking for the public's help in bringing her killer to justice. New York State Police were contacted early Thursday afternoon for a welfare check on the 45-year-old mother and as police and family searched the local area and her Westwood Drive neighborhood, Yanulavich was soon discovered dead inside her vehicle in the parking lot of the nearby Champlain National Bank on Route 3 just hours later. An intense multi-agency murder investigation was quickly launched as Clinton County District Attorney Andrew Wylie and Clinton County Coroner Chad Deans were called in to aid the early evidence collection and crime scene investigation. As the investigation continued Friday, an autopsy by Dr. Michael Sikirica at Glens Falls Medical Center determined the local mother died from multiple stab wounds. Her manner of death has been ruled a homicide. The search for clues and justice stretched into Essex County along Interstate 87 in Elizabethtown Friday afternoon where the New York State Police Troop B Forensic Identification Unit located and processed several pieces of evidence related to the case. "New York State Police and our Law Enforcement partner agencies have investigated nearly 100 leads to date. The police investigation has determined that the attack appears to have been targeted and not random. Nothing has been developed during the investigation that would deem the public to be at risk of danger," State Police said midday Saturday as they pleaded for information in the case. State Police are asking anyone who lives in the areas of Route 3/Cornelia Street, Broad Street, Rugar Street and Westwood Drive to check any surveillance camera systems for signs of suspicious activity between the hours of 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. Thursday, July 14. State Police are also asking the public to report any suspicious items that may be located on their property, including in garbage receptacles. Anyone with information is asked to contact New York State Police at 518-563-3761. New York State Police are being assisted by the Plattsburgh City Police Department, Clinton County Sheriff's Department, SUNY Plattsburgh Police Department, FBI, New York State Forest Rangers and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Services for Yanulavich have not been finalized and will be announced in the coming days.

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Police ask for public's help with murder investigation

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