South Tampa interior designer murdered in Bangkok

BANGKOK, Thailand - A South Tampa woman has been murdered in Bangkok, Thailand.

A Thai news service says a hotel maid found the body of 51-year-old Wendy Albano on the floor in the bathroom of her 17th story hotel room on Monday.

Albano, an interior designer, was on a business trip in Thailand, looking for materials. 

Officers said she had been stabbed in the chest and strangled in her room.

Police are looking for a man who shared her hotel room -- an Indian man between the ages of 25 to 30.

Surveillance cameras caught him leaving the hotel with his luggage on Sunday.  Immigration records show the suspect leaving the country just three hours later. 

The suspect's image is being posted in Thai media and police have asked Interpol to pursue him.

The U. S. State Department is offering assistance to the family.

The Albano family offered a written statement:

We were notified of Wendy's murder by the United States Embassy in Bangkok. They have extended every courtesy, and provided assistance.

We are devastated by the loss of a kind, caring and loving mother, daughter, sister and friend.

Wendy Albano was an interior designer in Tampa, Florida for the past twenty years. She was an avid traveler, loved music, the mountains of North Carolina, and her cats: Bobo, Bebe, Lily, Rudy, Philly and Nelson.  She had many friends in Tampa and throughout the country.

She is survived by her two daughters, her parents, her sister, brother, nieces and nephews.

As to her accused killer, Wendy met him and his family in India while attempting to start a design related and fashion accessory import business.

We ask that everyone respect the privacy of her family during this terrible time.