South Tampa interior designer killed in Thailand

Wendy Albano was kind, polite and would never dismiss or disparage anyone, friends said.

"Wendy's kind heart would never want to hurt anyone," said friend Claudia Sandoval of Tampa. "We know that she was a kind person and trusting person and didn't see evil in anyone."

That trusting nature might have contributed to her death over the weekend.

Albano, a South Tampa resident and successful interior designer in the area for 20 years, was stabbed and strangled to death Sunday night in a Bangkok, Thailand, hotel room where she had been staying since Feb. 9, according to a Thailand news report.

She was accompanied by a man from India, who investigators believe is the suspect, according to the Thailand news report. A Thailand news agency described the man as her boyfriend.

The man fled the country and investigators plan to issue an arrest warrant, the news report from Thailand said. The suspect hasn't been identified.

Albano, 51, had a business relationship with the man, Sandoval said.

"It's a very complicated situation," said Sandoval, who has never met the suspect. "There are a lot of layers to this whole thing."

Family members released a statement Wednesday saying they learned about the death on Monday through the American Embassy in Thailand. They expressed sadness and shock.

They knew about the man now suspected of killing Albano.

"Wendy met him and his family in India while attempting to start a design-related and fashion-accessory import business," the family statement reads.

She loved travel, music, the mountains in North Carolina and her cats, the family statement said.

Michelle O'Brien, a friend of Albano for three years, said she still has a hard time comprehending the news.

"Shocked that something brutal could happen to such a close friend of mine," O'Brien said.

Albano ran a successful interior design business out of her home, O'Brien said. She was a striking and caring woman who didn't hesitate to help others, she said.

"Wendy was the type of person that always lent a helping hand," O'Brien said.

Albano is survived by one daughter who recently graduated from the University of Florida Law School and works at a local law firm and a second daughter who is enrolled at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, O'Brien said.

"She loved them dearly," O'Brien said. "She was always there for them."

She is also survived by her parents, a sister and a brother.