There were no obvious signs of trauma to the body of a paralegal found dead inside the home of a prominent Center City Philadelphia attorney.
Julia Law, 26, was found dead in the bathtub of her boss and boyfriend Chuck Peruto Jr. Saturday morning. Investigators say Peruto was not inside the home when Law's body was found. Peruto was actually down the Jersey Shore with family, according to published reports.
Law's body was discovered inside an apartment located at 2000 Delancey Street in Center City around 10 a.m. Saturday.
Investigators say Peruto's maintenance man discovered Law's naked body face down and submerged in water inside a bathtub on the third floor.
"The first thing I did was call 9-1-1 and police showed up. I then went to homicide to give my accounts of what happened," said the man who did not want to be identified.
An autopsy on Law's body is complete but her cause of death is still pending toxicology results, which could take weeks, according to Philadelphia Police.
Once toxicology comes back, the Medical Examiner's Office will determine a cause of death, police said.
Preliminary investigations showed no obvious signs of trauma to Law's body, police told NBC10.
Wednesday night, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Law may have drowned after suffering a seizure, according to two law enforcement sources. This has not been confirmed by police however.
A source says Law was Peruto's paralegal for two years and that the two recently began dating. While the relationship between Peruto and Law has not been confirmed, Peruto wrote the following on his Facebook Page.
"It's very hard to find someone who really matches you on all eight cylinders," he wrote. "I found my soulmate hippy, and can never replace her. We worked and played, and never got enough life. I'm grateful we made every minute count, without a single dispute about anything ever. I'm especially sad for her 10-year-old brother, who was her life, along with her loving and close sisters, mother and step-father. Earth lost the best one ever. Happy birthday baby."
Peruto is best known for representing high-profile clients including alleged mob leaders Joey Merlino, Nicodemo Scarfo and Rian Thal -- a 34-year-old woman who was killed in a double murder at the Piazza at Schmidt's in Northern Liberties in 2009.
