Crucifix taped to mouth of body found in ventilation shaft

A WOMAN found dead in a ventilation shaft in a New York skyscraper where a cleaner had vanished days earlier was bound and gagged and had a gold crucifix taped to her mouth, police said.

Police searching for the missing Dominican-born cleaner at a building near the World Trade Centre site found the body on Saturday after discovering blood leaking from a ventilation shaft, police spokesman Paul Browne said.

The body has not been identified, but police believe it is that of Eridania Rodriguez, who had not been seen since her shift on Tuesday at the 26-storey Manhattan tower.