A mother of seven was found dead Thursday on a Brooklyn bench — her throat gruesomely slashed, authorities said.
The body of Sharon Whigham, 51, was discovered on W. Ninth St. in front of a community center in Red Hook around 4:30 a.m. by a passerby who alerted a police lieutenant on patrol a block away.
Police did not determine when Whigham died or what type of weapon was used. Sources said she was slashed from cheek to cheek.
Cops were questioning the victim’s married boyfriend, but he had not been charged.
Sources said he served four years in prison for stabbing a homeless man.
Sources also noted cops may have surveillance video of the attack.
A neighbor of the boyfriend, who lives on nearby Henry St., said she was awakened by an early morning argument during which the boyfriend was yelling and cursing.
“She was always arguing with her boyfriend,” said Shakur Almahi, 52. “They would get in crazy fights.”
Whigham, who lived in Red Hook, had seven arrests on her record.
Five were sealed and the other two were for drug possession, though police said it is not yet clear why she was killed.
Friends and relatives said Whigham grew up in the neighborhood.
Damien Scott, 36, who runs a mentoring program for troubled kids, said she was well-known in the neighborhood.
“She was really a part of the community,” he said. “So, it’s shocking initially, but once that wears off it’s really just sad.”
“Sharon had a nice, big family,” said a man who would only give his name as David, who knew the victim from the neighborhood.
“A lot of kids. She just turned 51, too. It’s a shame. No woman deserves that. It was a really hateful crime.”
Friends described her as sweet, but tough.
“The Sharon Whigham I knew was definitely a fighter,” a friend, Cynthia Sanders, posted on Facebook.
“I hope the coward that did this to her is found. She didn’t deserve it.”
Earlier in the night, the victim and her boyfriend were hanging out with another couple, a source said.
That couple had a fight and the man punched the woman in the mouth. The second woman left a blood trail as she went to call for help.
That woman was treated and the boyfriend was being sought, officials said.
