Jogger Stumbles Into Restaurant Covered In Blood After Being Fatally Stabbed

A jog through a trendy Washington D.C. neighborhood took a tragic turn for 35-year-old Wendy Karina Martinez, who was stabbed in a seemingly random attack Tuesday night.

Martinez was able to stumble into a Chinese restaurant to try to get help, but her injuries were too severe and she was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. She had gotten engaged just the week before.

"It was very disturbing. You have a young woman out here exercising in a neighborhood, a very, very safe neighborhood," D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham said during a recent press conference.  "To have something like that happen, like I said, it's unsettling."

Police believe a lone assailant was responsible for the attack, which police believe was likely random. They released video of a suspect wearing a long sleeved mustard shirt and dark colored sweatpants they want to speak with in connection to the attack.

"We're asking for anyone who may have seen someone fitting that description in this area to please give us a call," Newsham said.

The incident occurred  just before 8 p.m. Tuesday night when Martinez was out for one of her frequent runs through the neighborhood, news station WTTG reports. During the run, she was stabbed several times in the neck but was able to make her way into a nearby Chinese food restaurant, police said. Customers in the carry out area tried to help Martinez, who was covered in blood and had very serious injuries.

"She collapsed. They tried to provide medical attention to her, unfortunately she was taken to the local hospital where she was pronounced dead," Newsham said.

The victim's family has said they are deeply saddened by the senseless tradedy.

"Wendy Karina Martinez was the light of our lives," her mother Cora Martinez wrote in a statement obtained by local news station KTRK. "Not only was she an avid runner, but she was a devout Christian, a wonderful friend and a driven professional."

Cora Martinez said her daughter had gotten engaged to Daniel Hincapie just a week earlier and had been "excited to be planning her upcoming wedding."

Martinez had been the Chief of Staff at FiscalNote, a software, data, and media company based in D.C.

"The entire FiscalNote family is shocked and deeply saddened to learn that Wendy Martinez, our Chief of Staff, was killed last night," the company said on a message on Twitter. "Wendy was an invaluable member of our team and a vibrant member of the community. Our thoughts and prayers are with Wendy’s family and friends."

[Photo: Metropolitian Police Department]