Des Moines woman found beaten to death

A 57-year-old mother was found beaten to death in her east Des Moines home Sunday afternoon, Des Moines police said.

The woman's adult daughter called 911 after finding her mother unresponsive on the floor of the home at 2809 E. Douglas Ave.

Police and medics arrived too late for the woman, whose name was not released pending notification of relatives.

Her death is being investigated as the first homicide of 2014 in Iowa's capital.

The woman was discovered with "obvious signs of trauma to her body and a baseball bat nearby," said Sgt. Jason Halifax, Des Moines police spokesman.

Several witnesses were taken to the Des Moines police station for interviews.

Though no suspects had been identified late Sunday, Halifax said police did not believe a killer was at large in Des Moines.

Neighbors declined to speak with The Des Moines Register on Sunday afternoon, as police marked off the front of the home with yellow crime scene tape.

The home is in a typically quiet neighborhood, about four blocks east of the Hy-Vee Store on East Euclid Avenue and in the area covered by the Douglas Acres Neighborhood Association.

"We don't have too many calls to that area," Halifax said Sunday. "This is very unusual."