Albany police investigating after woman was found dead in apartment

ALBANY, N.Y. (WRGB) - Albany police say they're still looking into what led up to the death of Nicole Jennings, 29, who was found dead the apartment of a 52-year-old man who is now charged with manslaughter for her death.

It was a first floor apartment in a building on Brevator St. in Albany, where police say they responded on Saturday for a wellness check.

"They eventually forced entry into the home and located the man inside with multiple stab wounds to his body," Albany Police Officer Steve Smith said.

Police say those stab wounds were self inflicted - and they found much more. According to a felony complaint, Paul Barbaritano, 52, recklessly caused the death of Jennings. The paperwork alleges that Barbaritano strangled Jennings with a belt and stabbed her in the throat with a knife. Right now, he's charged with manslaughter.

"It is still very early in the investigation, and is still ongoing, there could potentially be more charges, or the charges could be upgraded, but the investigation is still ongoing," Smith said.

Police say Jennings' body wasn't there long. They will only say she and Barbaritano were known to each other. Upon research, we discovered that Jennings was featured just months ago on our own "Perp Patrol".

"Back in March, Bethlehem Police sent that information to perp patrol, which is been an excellent resource for us in trying to locate people," Bethlehem Police Commander Adam Hornick said.

"She was arrested on December 31 for possession of a controlled substance and seventh degree, which was possession of what's commonly called a crack pipe."

Hornick says Jennings failed to show up for court appearances.

But those who knew the 29-year-old say she was much more than her addiction.

One friend telling us, "Nicole had her demons and struggles but she was a very caring and loving person."

We also looked up Barbaritano's background - according to the state Department of Corrections site, he served two years in state prison back in 2005 for robbery. He's currently being held without bail in the Albany County Jail and is expected to appear back in court on Friday morning.