When officers arrived, the suspect was gone, and the woman was found on the floor of her home, Rivera said. She was taken to University Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.

Police are looking for the suspect's car, described as a silver 1992 Plymouth with Nevada license plate number 010JWG.

The motive for the stabbing was unclear, Rivera said.

Police did not release the victim's name, but a neighbor identified the woman who lived at the home as Raymarie Brown, who another neighbor said was a nurse at a hospital.

Brown lived with her son and her daughter, according to neighbors.

One neighbor, who didn't want to be identified for fear of retribution, said the son would often sit on an electrical box in front of the house, sometimes as early as 6 a.m., drinking and talking to himself.

"He'd just sit there and drink for hours," the neighbor said. "He's weird."

The presence of police and crime scene investigators shook up residents in the neighborhood, near Jones Boulevard and Blue Diamond Road.

Neighbors gathered in front of their houses and peered down the street toward the police tape surrounding the home, at 6322 Haleh Ave.

Anthony Dougherty, 43, said the woman's son works or used to work at a casino.

"He walks up and down the street," Dougherty said. "I don't know if he catches the bus or what."

Neighbor Alicia Koppelman, 60, said Brown worked with her daughter at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center.

"She was a real nice lady, a real nice lady," Koppelman said. "You hate to see something like that."

Anybody with information on the slaying is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 385-5555.

Review-Journal writer Maggie Lillis contributed to this report. Contact reporter Lawrence Mower at lmower @reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0440.