A homeless woman was found dead Wednesday afternoon in a South Bay Creek and police have called her death sucpicious. 

Police have yet to confirm the case as a homicide, but it appeared that the woman's death was the result of an attack. Investigators were continuing to search for clues to her death Thursday.

Police discovered the woman's body floating face down Wednesday afternoon in Los Gatos Creek, an area where homeless people usually gather.

Friends of the victim, known as "Luvi," said she was a drug addict and suspect foul play.

"Luvi is a very nice person," said Brenda, a homeless camp resident. "She'll do a lot for a lot of people. However; when she relapsed, she went kind of out there, so she's got a few enemies out there from things that she's done."

EHC Lifebuilders, an organization that provides services for the homeless, conducted its annual ceremony Thursday where community leaders read the names of the homeless who died on San Jose streets this year – among those names was Luvi.

Organizers said the list of 39 victims increased to 40.

"We've had a decline in the number of deaths from the previous year, but despite that, we're still losing people to homelessness and that's what this woman's death symbolizes for me today," said Jenny Niklaus, of EHC Lifebuilders CEO.

A homeless woman who has also lived along the creek agreed.

"I been through the storms, through the floods, through the violence and it's very crazy out there," Eli said. "And especially for the females it's even more tough."

Luvi's friends expect to hear she is San Jose's latest homicide.

"It wouldn't surprise me at all, because of the area she was at when it happened and the people she was hanging around with," Eli added.

Police said the case was still being investigated by its homicide unit, but until they get more information from the coroner's office it would be listed as a suspicious death.