The family of a man found stabbed to death in the bathtub of his luxury Queens high-rise apartment after being visited by several men — including one discovered naked trying to destroy the building’s security cameras — are mystified by the circumstances of his slaying.
Carlos Penzo, 36, was found dead in his bathroom at the Hayden, a high-end apartment building in Long Island City on Saturday.
“For this to happen to him in the comfort of his own home is unbelievable,” Christine Piantini, the victim’s sister, told the Daily News as she fought back tears. “My brother was not an aggressive person. He was a sweetheart.”
Piantini said her family is still grappling with the bizarre details surrounding his murder. Cops were first summoned to the building after receiving a 911 call from the victim’s cell phone about 9:59 a.m. Saturday — but could not gain access to his unit.
Then at 12:35 p.m., an alarm went off and building security discovered a naked man on the roof of Penzo’s 51-story high-rise spraying a fire extinguisher at security cameras in an apparent attempt to destroy them, the sources said.
Building security workers alerted the NYPD and the naked man was taken into custody by cops in a fourth-floor hallway, where he was trying to break into the victim’s apartment, according to sources. No charges against him were immediately filed.
“We’re appalled by the nature of the crime,“ said Piantini, who spoke to The News at her home in the Norwood section of the Bronx, where family gathered to grieve. “Obviously there was a struggle.“
After taking the naked man into custody, cops gained access to Penzo’s unit and found him dead
The naked man was one of up to four men cops believe to have been inside the apartment with Penzo in the hours before his body was found, cops said.
The victim’s sister has no idea who those men are.
“We know so little,” Piantini said. “We have so many questions.”
Carlos Penzo, pictured, was found dead in his apartment bathroom at the Hayden, a high-end apartment building in Long Island City, Queens, on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026.
Piantini declined to say what her brother did for work.
“He comes from a very good family” and “was loved by everybody,” she said.
“He brought light,” she added. “He didn’t deserve to suffer.”
Penzo’s was found dead sitting upright in a bathtub with a knife and a Taser in his lap. He had suffered deep stab wounds and slashes to his face and head and had also been stabbed in the chest, police sources said.
There was blood in his bedroom and on his kitchen floor and a broken knife was found in the sink, the sources said.
Nobody has been charged with his slaying.