Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad detectives have identified a woman who was found dead in the back seat of her ex-husband’s vehicle at the Sore Thumb Beach in Babylon on Sunday. She has been identified as Gulcin Karadag, 49, of 675 North Erie Ave., Lindenhurst, and her husband, Muhammet Karadag, 50, has been charged with stabbing her to death.

Police identified her on Monday following an investigation that began when Lindenhurst firefighters rushed to the victim’s home at approximately 4 a.m. after receiving a call about a fire and explosion there. As firefighters searched the home for victims and worked to put out the blaze, they discovered what appeared to be the scene of a violent struggle in a rear bedroom of the home. They immediately called police.

"It was obvious from the amount of heat the fire generated and the fact that there was so much fire that something was amiss," said James Gallagher, 1st Ass't Chief of the Lindenhurst Fire Department.

"Then, once we saw the bedroom we called police and closed off the room until they arrived."

Chief Steve Smaldon was in charge at the scene and approximately 60 firefighters responded. One sustained minor injuries.

The street was cordorned off most of the day on Sunday as police continued to investigate the incident. They broadcast a notification to be on the lookout for the husband’s vehicle, a 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe, and it was located at the Sore Thumb Beach by a Marine Bureau officer. Karadag was unconscious lying between the front and back seat and was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital for treatment of what appeared to be a drug overdose.

The couple had lived in the home for several years and neighbors said they had maintained their home well and had a pool in the back yard where they often entertained friends. Sources said that over the past year, however, the property became overgrown and the pool remained closed this summer.

Arson Squad detectives are investigating the cause of fire. Detectives are asking anyone who may have information about this incident to call the Homicide Squad at 631-852-6392 or anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS.

The investigation is continuing.