Results tagged “homicide”

Ah summertime: sunkissed skin, sunny days...and a better chance at getting brutally murdered. The NY Times has a story, accompanied by a cheery map, tracking homicides in the city—specifically how their numbers go up along with the temperature. The paper actually calls New York in the summer months a "distinctively lethal place," following their multiyear analysis of murder trends compiled from records dated 2003 to 2008.

The NY Times looks at the death of William Jenkins, whose infections from a 1960 shooting have prompted the ME's office to classify his March 13, 2009 death as a homicide. Jenkins was paralyzed at 18 when he was shot by rival gang members: "He was with Dragons who faced off against some Viceroys on 103rd Street, between Park and Madison Avenues." Jenkins' death is now the "oldest reclassified homicide in New York Police Department history," and will be counted toward 2009's homicide total. Which apparently perplexes and annoys Police Commissioner Ray Kelly (who, naturally, wanted the lowest possible homicide tally). He told the Times, “If someone is shot on New Year’s Eve and dies the next day, it makes sense to record it as a homicide in the new year... When shootings and deaths are separated by decades, and now by almost a half century, it’s counterintuitive that they are consistently declared homicides.”

The body of a woman was found on a Degraw Street sidewalk, just a block from the East River, yesterday morning around 6:30 a.m. Police say she was Latina, in her late 20s or early 30s, and stabbed multiple times; WABC 7 reports, "Residents in the neighborhood told Eyewitness News they saw bloody evidence of the crime as early as midnight." The Brookly Daily Eagle was on the scene and overhead one man react when told someone was stabbed to death, "Jesus, that hasn't happened around here for years.” Another resident said of the building near where the body was found, “Hard-working people live there. Quiet, hard working people. No disturbances. Then today, you come, and it’s just Boom Bang. I hope they catch the guy.”

New reports coming out of Chicago indicate that Knicks center Eddy Curry is entrenched even deeper into the tragic double murder of his ex-girlfriend Nova Henry and her 10-month-old infant Ava. The Chicago Sun-Times reported last night that DNA tests had determined that Curry was Ava's father. A spokesman for the Henry family told the press, “The family never had a doubt of who the father is.”

Knicks injured center Eddy Curry's 3-year-old son Noah remains in the care of his maternal grandmother two days after the murders of his infant sister Ava and his mother Nova Henry, Curry's ex-girlfriend. A source tells the News that "the [boy] was found in a pool of blood" in what the paper calls "every parent's nightmare." Curry was told of the murders after Saturday's Knicks loss in Philadelphia. Though his lawyer said the player considered going to Chicago, he is expected to be supporting the team on their bench tonight against Houston. After a season of injuries and conditioning problems, he is not expected back any time soon. One former coach of his told the News, "Eddy has zero mental toughness. He doesn't love the game and he hasn't taken pride in his conditioning."

Curry is married and his four children with his wife, Patrice. Despite claims by Nova Henry that the now deceased infant was his, Curry has continually denied paternity. However, a close source to Henry told the Chicago Tribune that he is an active part of 3-year-old boy's life.

Police say that on Sunday morning, the body of 22-year-old John Hopkins-Drago was found by a super at 2161 Barnes Avenue in the Bronx. Hopkins-Drago had been stabbed—a police source told the Daily News, "He was stabbed at least 40 or 50 times in the head, neck, and chest"—and his body had been put in a plastic bag. WCBS 2 quoted a neighbor: "They found the body in a shopping cart, chopped up, right here in the back of this building." Hopkins-Drago was reportedly estranged from his family; when the News called relatives for comment, they "quickly hung up the phone." The victim, who was seen on Saturday, may have been recently kicked out of a friend's apartment. Police are looking for suspects.

A man accused of shooting four female family members and then burning down the house they were in turned himself in to police yesterday in Irvington, NJ. Rolando Terrell (known as "Rat Man") is accused of shooting three women and a teenage girl in the NJ town bordering Newark. Two of the women were burned beyond recognition and the 13-year-old girl was shot in the face. A 14-month-old toddler who survived was rushed from the apartment covered in blood by an unknown woman.

A toddler, who ACS had returned to his family in Queens just one month ago, was declared dead yesterday by authorities. It's unclear how Jaysha Brown died, but he was found with cuts, bruises, and bite marks as well as external injuries that appeared days old. The Daily News reports, "Investigators were trying to determine if the child was murdered - the victim of his mother, her boyfriend or, stunningly, his 5-year-old brother."

The 22-year-old man who was shot in Brooklyn last weekend, an incident that left a gruesome mess at the bus depot on Broadway and Roebling, has died. The Brooklyn Paper reports that the altercation leading to the shooting began at Williamsburg's Festa del Giglio, and witnesses say the scuffle resulted in Williamsburg resident Richard Duran getting shot in the face. "The gunmen — who onlookers suspect were gang members — sprinted off," however, the shooter and one other man returned and "picked up an orange traffic cone and threw it at the head of the kid who was shot." This all happened on the same night, and around the same time, as the stabbings in the area last weekend; the police didn't catch the assailants.

A Marine Park husband and wife, who worked as divorce attorneys, were found dead, shot multiple times at close range in their bedroom. Their housekeeper found Mark Schwartz, 50, and Maria-Christina Petrowski-Schwartz, 48, yesterday afternoon on East 33rd Street.

Just as the NYPD announced that it would distribute more Tasers as a non-lethal alternative to firearms, a Brooklyn man was killed by a Long Island police officer when he was Tasered. Suffolk County police said that the 26-year-old Tony Bradway died after being shocked twice by an officer's Taser, as the deceased was attempting to swallow a bag of cocaine.

Neighbors shouted and cursed Lemar Martin and Nymeen Cheatham as they were led from their apartment building in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. Despite the sweltering heat, Cheatham wore a heavy parka, so she could pull the fur-trimmed hood over her head to hide her face. The pair were arrested in connection to the death of three-year-old Kyle Smith, who was declared dead Friday afternoon despite the best efforts of EMS workers. Cheatham was the young boy's godmother, who was ambiguously granted custody of him about a year ago due to his mother's crack addiction (Cheatham showed for the court hearing, but left before the actual proceedings could take place).

A 54-year-old foster mother has been arrested and charged with criminally negligent homicide after she gave her six-year-old charge a prescription pain killer that killed her.

Police and firefighters are investigating the cause of death of a man who died late yesterday evening in the Bronx. The two standout theories are that he died because he was on fire or because he may have been shot. The still-unidentified man stumbled in the first floor hallway of the Eastchester Houses on Adee Ave. in the Bronx around 11:30 p.m. Saturday night; he was on fire and collapsed. Responding firefighters declared him dead at the scene. The fire in the man's apartment took about an hour to extinguish.

A 29-year-old woman scheduled to testify in a kidnapping case today was possibly thrown from a Harlem building yesterday morning. Joy Blackman, who was a witness to a kidnapping and was also a witness against her accused rapist in a separate case, was found dead in an alleyway at 145 West 145th Street.

The man who allegedly shot and killed Carol Simon-Hayes last week, as she was walking towards her nine-year-old son and talking to a friend on the phone, has been arrested. Darius Dubarry was arrested at a motel in Augusta, Georgia, where the 27-year-old fled town after Simon-Hayes's death. Simon-Hayes was killed in Crown Heights when an argument between Dubarry and another man devolved to gunplay, and Simon was struck by a stray bullet. “I got a bullet, I have to call 911," the nurse technician told her friend on the phone.

The prime suspect in the murder of an FDNY fire marshal – his wife – may have instructed her children to wear earplugs in the hours before the slaying. According to the Daily News, investigators found two earplugs in the bedroom Janet Mercereau shared with her kids (the marriage was on the rocks). If prosecutors prove that Mercereau had given the children earplugs to keep them from waking up during the shooting, it will mean the murder was premeditated rather than a crime of passion, carrying a greater criminal charge.

The NYPD detectives working the homicide investigation of Carol Simon have identified a suspect in her killing, although they are not publicizing his identity. Simon was shot as she was returning to her car where her son was waiting for her at a gas station. The killing occurred Saturday evening in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, as an argument between two men turned violent and one of the men pulled a gun.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a police officer was struck on Richmond and Wilson Aves. on Staten Island, there was a large fight on Franklin Ave. and Empire Blvd. in Brooklyn, and a double homicide on Furman Ave. and East 237th St. in the Bronx.
• The US Postal Service is expecting to process one billion individual pieces of mail today, three times the daily average. The busiest day of the year is expected to be Wednesday.
• Interboro Institute, the two-year commercial college, is going out of business due to financial and regulatory problems.
• Oysters used to be one of the most plentiful animals in NY Harbor. Now they're making a recovery in one of the most unlikely of places--the Gowanus Canal.
• The Metropolitan Museum received quite the holiday present when the estate of Diane Arbus presented it with the photographer's entire archives as a gift.
• The airline industry is seeking in court to block a passenger bill of rights that originated in New York due to horrendous service.
• The city's looking to combat the obesity of New Yorkers (we're less obese than the rest of the country) by increasing the number of permits issued to food cart vendors selling fresh fruit and vegetables.
• Collaborative sleuthing tries to dig up why the planned Brooklyn College dorm that used to be under construction seems to be going nowhere.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a person under a train at East Fordham Rd. and Jerome Ave. in the Bronx, a shooting on Henry and West 9th Sts. in Brooklyn, and a homicide on Roosevelt Ave. in Queens.
• New Yorkers found guilty of repeated incidents of ignoring recycling laws may be required to throw out their trash in see-through bags for easy inspection.
• Ads soliciting the perfect ass might not make it onto city buses, but the company that sells Georgi vodka will put its bikini ads on city taxis.
• A high-end steakhouse and retailers of luxury goods are on slate for Adams St. near the Brooklyn Bridge.
• That's not Che Guevara in Times Square; it's Rambo. John Rambo. A marketing exec at Lionsgate says "You have to scream loud when you're screaming."
• Scaffolding outside the offices of The Observer was dislodged by high winds. A block of Broadway was temporarily closed this afternoon.
• The Daily Show with John Stewart may return to the air as early as January 7, whether the writers guild strike is settled or not.
• Curbed surveys how "hip" Williamsburg, Brooklyn is in the eyes of a PR Newswire release. Its findings: Williamsburg is very very very hip.

Fire Marshal Douglas Mercereau was laid to rest at St. Charles R.C. Church on Staten Island yesterday. Mercereau was found murdered in his home, shot three times in the head, and his wife appears to be a suspect. Though the police have not officially named any suspects, Janet Redmond-Mercereau allegedly had a rocky relationship with her husband, to the point where the two started divorce proceedings in 2006. At the funeral, mourners "cast suspicious glances"...

A "rising star" in the Fire Department was found with three gunshot to the head in his Staten Island home Sunday morning. The ME's office said that Douglas J. Mercereau's death was a homicide. It's believed that his 38-year-old wife, Janet Redmond-Mercereau, is a suspect (the Daily News calls her the "prime suspect"). She called 911 around 8:25AM on Sunday, saying she found her husband's body. The Staten Island Advance says the couple had "started...

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a scaffolding collapse on 5th Ave. and 115th St. in Manhattan, a stabbing on Franklin Ave. in Queens, and a homicide at 83rd St. and 4th Ave. in Brooklyn.
• The new Kaleidoscope Light Show is now on display at Grand Central Terminal's main hall.
• The Toshiba company returns to Times Square after being absent for several decades. The company signed a 10-year lease to capture the top sign spot at 1 Times Square.
• Marty Markowitz will be lighting the giant Brooklyn menorah tomorrow night at Court and Montague Sts. Mr. Met will do the honors flipping the switch on the menorah at Grand Army Plaza.
• A DHL cargo plane will depart from JFK tomorrow loaded with 500 Christmas trees to be delivered to troops in the Middle East.
• Donald Trump Jr. has been renamed the head of his condo board after being ousted without warning a year ago.
• Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte will hold off on retirement and return to the team for the 2008 season.
• The folks at WOXY radio will be streaming nothing but holiday music online between now and Christmas.

First responders gathered in front of the NYC Medical Examiner's office to protest how the ME has classified deaths seemingly related to Ground Zero illnesses. State Senator Eric Adams said he would introduce legislation making sure first responders who worked at Ground Zero will "get the same line-of-duty benefits" as September 11 victims. Recently, the ME's office has not named two rescuers, who worked at the World Trade Center site after September 11 and later...

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a homicide on Merrick and Baisley Blvds. in Queens, an overturned auto on the F.D.R. Drive at East 23rd St. in Manhattan, and shots fired at the police at 58th St. and 18th Ave. in Brooklyn.
• Two employees were found dead in an empty 20,000 gallon vat they were cleaning at an industrial laundry service in NJ. The men appear to have been overcome by chemical fumes and suffocated.
• New York politicians pile on the Bush administration over proposed cuts to Homeland Security funding. Sen. Schumer wondered aloud, "You scratch your head and wonder, is the White House on the same planet as the rest of us?"
• People rallied outside the Venezuelan consulate in Manhattan today in support of President Hugo Chavez, who is in an electoral bid to become the permanent leader of his country. Chavez supporters suggested that the U.S. follow Venezuela's lead, and we're fairly sure they were referring to expanding social programs and not installing President Bush as leader for life.
• Queens Crap spots some paved-over property to provide parking. These super-steep driveways should be fun to negotiate in winter weather.
• Tagging a museum is okay if you fork over enough money for the privilege.
• After a 25-year-old man was fatally stabbed inside the Flatiron district's Club Duvet, owners closed the nightspot "by court order."
• Photos of the Banksy show opening at the Vanina Holasek Gallery.
• A red tailed hawk fell 20 stories off the top of a building in the Bronx and was then hit by a passing car. Police suspect the bird was attacked by a person.

Dr. Charles S. Hirsch is the chief medical examiner of New York City and has overseen the autopsies on more than 100,000 people. He would probably remain a mystery to most New Yorkers, if it weren't for his ruling on the death of Det. James Zadroga, who worked clean-up at Ground Zero after September 11, 2001. Hirsch said that Zadroga's death wasn't related to Ground Zero dust, but ground-up pills the detective was allegedly injecting....

A three pound rock that fell from a truck flew through a car windshield, killing the front passenger in Old Brookville. Seventy-five-year-old Rita Oill was pronounced dead at North Shore University Hospital an hour after the 10:15AM incident. She and her daughter Marie Waters were out to do some Thanksgiving shopping. The truck's driver did not stop. Newsday reports that the rock was "about five inches in circumference and about two inches in diameter" and...

Linda Stein's daughter says that her mother had been recently diagnosed with a brain tumor and was, according to the Daily News, "taking medication that caused severe mood swings." Stein was found bludgeoned to death on October 30, and her personal assistant Natavia Lowery was arrested for her murder on Friday. Samantha Stein-Wells said, "My mother didn't deserve this.... They had just found a brain tumor a couple of weeks before she was killed. Everyone...

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: an attempted bank robbery on East 23rd St. in Manhattan, a pedestrian struck on 82nd St. and Central Park West in Manhattan, and a homicide on Grand Ave. in Brooklyn.
• The politics of succession in the world of Masters of the Universe. Changing places, changing times, unsurpassable ambition.
• Sometimes the old is new: when a garbage hauling-controlling family tells you to do something, you do it, or they'll burn your company down.
• Mayor Bloomberg is displeased with an audit that criticizes his predecessor for a golf course construction deal that led to millions being paid to a mobbed-up company moving dirt from one place to another.
• New York State is joining a multi-state lawsuit against the federal government over global warming issues.
• Stop-and-frisks by the NYPD were down 11% in the latest quarter that it reported to the City Council.
• A suit has been brought against New York State with the shocking allegation that perhaps indigent people aren't provided adequate legal defense.
• The 71-year-old woman dumped unconscious on the sidewalk in front of a bogus dentist's office died.