Image copyright Christina Carlin-Kraft Image caption Christina Carlin-Kraft was found strangled to death in her Pennsylvania suburb apartment

A former Playboy model has been found strangled to death in her apartment in a Philadelphia suburb.

Christina Carlin-Kraft, 36, was discovered by police on 22 August in the bedroom of the home in Ardmore, Pennsylvania.

Lower Merion police say officers found her body in the first-floor unit at 21:15 local time on Wednesday.

The Montgomery County Coroner's Office determined the cause of death to be homicide by "ligature strangulation".

The flat is owned by her Wall Street banker boyfriend, whom she dated for nine years, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.

A source told the Inquirer that police had been investigating a burglary at the flat, reported by Ms Carlin-Kraft after a night out on Saturday.

Image copyright Christina Carlin-Kraft

Police recovered some of her stolen goods - including jewellery and designer handbags - in south-west Philadelphia on Wednesday.

They discovered her body that night while returning the goods, the Inquirer reported.

Sources told the Inquirer that surveillance footage showed a male suspect at the apartment both on the evening of the robbery and on Wednesday.

The footage on Wednesday shows the suspect entering the Ardmore flat but not leaving.

Authorities have withheld the victim's name until next-of-kin are notified, but family members confirmed her death to CBS Philadelphia.

In her Model Mayhem profile, Ms Carlin-Kraft lists New York City as her home and cites past work with Vanity Fair, Maxim Magazine, Victoria's Secret and Playboy.