Film director Jennifer Abbott found dead: Gagged in her home, stabbed to death

Jennifer Abbott, a 69-year-old filmmaker working under the stage name Sarah Steinberg and responsible for documentaries such as The Corporation, which won her the Sundance Award in 2004, and The Magnitude of All Things , has been found stabbed to death in her apartment in Camden, London, UK. Police are investigating the incident, which they suspect may have been linked to a planned robbery .

According to several media outlets, the Metropolitan Police are searching for the killer, who allegedly stole a diamond-encrusted Rolex watch from the woman's home and who has since disappeared. Several neighbors told MailOnline that Abbott had lived at that address for more than 10 years, having moved from the United States, where he often socialized with celebrities.

On her social media, she can be seen posing alongside Hollywood figures such as Paris Hilton, Kate Hudson, and Dan Aykroyd. She also won an award for writing and directing a documentary about the war.

Abbott was last seen walking her dog on June 10. The filmmaker was found by police at her Camden home around 6:00 p.m. on June 13. A neighbor said she heard Abbott's niece screaming as she tried to get into the apartment.

Meanwhile, the son of one of the building's residents used a metal bar to break down the door. Abbott's dog, Prince, was found locked in the bathroom, miraculously alive after surviving for only three days. As for the filmmaker, she was found with duct tape covering her mouth.

The day after her body was found, an autopsy was performed, which determined the cause of death to be blunt force trauma.

A friend of the artist said Abbott tearfully confessed to her that she was afraid to sleep at night. "Once, she couldn't leave the apartment because of the number of drug addicts on the street," she said.

"Her niece said she had a lot of jewelry, so the police need to check if anything else is missing," the witness added. Another neighbor commented that the building had had problems with homeless people breaking down doors to sleep inside. "Before, a lot of homeless people would come in, sleep inside, and relieve themselves. The community police came often. But not as much anymore," she revealed.