CHILDREN FIND MOTHER DEAD; POLICE LOOKING FOR HUSBAND.

Byline: Josh Kleinbaum Staff Writer

Police are seeking to interview the husband of a 37-year-old woman whose body was found by her two young children, officials said Monday.

Neighbors told police they saw Ana Bermudez and her husband, Javier Vasquez, arguing Sunday night outside their apartment in the 6900 block of Ben Avenue, officials said. Her 10-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son found her body on Monday morning, and authorities determined she had been strangled.

``There appears to be foul play, and the husband is a person of interest that we'd like to talk to,'' Los Angeles police Detective Mike Coffey said.

``The husband is gone, his car is gone and he didn't show up to work.''

Vasquez - who also uses the names ``Jorge Hernandez,'' ``Victor Lopez'' and ``Javier Lopez Hernandez'' - had documents with several birth dates, but police believe he is 29, Coffey said.

He was described as 5-feet-3 and 175 pounds, with a cracked front tooth and two missing teeth. He was last seen driving a black 1997 Ford Mustang with the license plate 4AVG651, Coffey said.

Bermudez's children, who were from a previous marriage, were placed with relatives, officials said.

Anyone with information on Vasquez's whereabouts is asked to call the Los Angeles Police Department's North Hollywood detectives at [phone].

Josh Kleinbaum, [phone]

josh.kleinbaum(at)dailynews.com

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Javier Vasquez, shown here with his wife, Ana Bermudez, is being sought for an interview by police officials in connection with the strangulation death of Bermudez.