A missing mother was located dead in a shallow grave on Jamaica Bay shoreline in Queens after being shot multiple times in the stomach, head and neck.
New York police have begun an urgent manhunt for the killer, whom investigators think knew the victim.
Seraphina Pereira, 35, was last seen leaving her Beach 54th Street home at about 11 am on Monday, October 19.
Five days later, officers recovered her decomposing body wrapped in a blanket from a shallow hole on the Queens beach at around 9:45 pm on Saturday.
The mother of four, a Queens resident, had gunshot injuries to her stomach, head and neck.
Before disappearing, Seraphina posted a birthday message for her son, who had just turned five.
A week earlier she shared a selfie with her daughter, both wearing green eye shadow.
Police took a person of interest into custody on Monday night, but no charges have been filed yet.
Her sister, Davonna Gray, 41, traveled from Albany to New York City to search for her.
Wiping away tears, Gray told The News, "We were determined to find her. We went directly to the beach with a flashlight, she loved the beach, only to get this crazy news. It's hard. Who could kill a mother?"
Seraphina leaves four children aged 14, 13, five and three.
Gray added, "She was a wonderful person. Besides her kids, she loved dancing. She loved exploring things and living her life. My sister has been through a lot and she always had a smile on her face, despite everything."
She also revealed that Seraphina lost the father of her two oldest children about six years ago to a heart attack, and that their mother died in November four years ago.
According to Gray, the mother had been separating from the father of her two youngest children when she vanished.
