A contract worker at the Corcoran School of Arts and Design was fatally stabbed Tuesday afternoon, a University spokeswoman confirmed.
Corrina Mehiel, 34, was found dead in her apartment on the 600 block of 14th St. NE from multiple stab wounds, according to a release from the Metropolitan Police Department.
Mehiel, who was from Burnsville, North Carolina, was working as a project assistant for Mel Chin, the school’s first William Wilson Corcoran Visiting Professor of Community Engagement, on Chin’s Fundred Dollar Bill Project.
Sanjit Sethi, director of the Corcoran, notified the school’s faculty, staff and students of Mehiel’s death in an email sent Wednesday around noon. Sethi said the University was notified of her death Wednesday morning.
“Her strong commitment to the Fundred campaign is what led her to work with Mel and while in DC, she proved to be a galvanizing force bringing more attention to lead poisoning,” Sethi said. “Corrina was a vibrant and talented individual who will be dearly missed.”
MPD Chief Peter Newsham held a press conference on the homicide Wednesday afternoon, saying that police are in early stages of the investigation.
Newsham said police do not believe the stabbing was random, but urged the public to continue to be careful in the metropolitan area. He added that MPD does not believe that Mehiel was followed from the Corcoran before she was stabbed.
“We don’t have any information to suggest that she was followed,” he said.
Mehiel was found bound in her apartment, according to NBC Washington.
Police are seeking the public’s assistance in locating Mehiel’s vehicle, a blue 2004 Toyota Prius with a Kentucky license plate 722 RMY, according to the release.
Robin Eberhardt contributed reporting.