A 59-year-old Ozone Park, Queens resident was found dead early Wednesday in the parking lot of his apartment complex, and police are investigating the death as suspicious.
Police said the man was discovered on the ground behind his blue Subaru with the driver’s side door open at about 4:35 a.m. Wednesday on 87th Street. Investigators said he had a single puncture wound to his torso and trauma to his head.
The victim’s name had not been released as of Wednesday, and no arrests had been made.
Neighbors described the man as someone who largely kept to himself.
“Usually, his car is parked in the front. It’s never back there,” said Natasha Segarra, a nurse aide for tenant Laurie Cohen, who said she had known of the victim for nearly 20 years.
Segarra recalled her interactions with the man over the years.
“I always remember him coming down. It’s sad. For Christmas, he gave me a gift. It’s sad. I still have it in my house,” she said.
She also said, “You really never saw him with nobody. He was always by himself and if he wasn’t by himself, he was with his girlfriend.”
Neighbors said the man had a girlfriend from another country who had recently returned to visit.
Laurie Cohen, who lives above the victim, said she heard a disturbance before police arrived.
“I just heard fighting this morning. I heard screaming. I don’t know and then the cops they were ringing the doorbell and I said who is ringing the doorbell at 5 o’clock,” Cohen said.
Police said no weapon was found at the scene. Investigators did, however, find open alcohol containers inside the victim’s vehicle.
The death has been deemed suspicious, according to police.
The investigation has unsettled residents in the area.
“The community right next to adjacent to us is as pleasant as you’re going to ask for and another adjacent community to us is pretty chill so this is wild,” neighbor Joel Almonte said.
The city medical examiner will determine the exact cause of death. The investigation remains ongoing.
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