A Bronx man died six days after he was bashed in the head in his Bronx apartment building \u2014 and cops have arrested a suspect for murder, police said Sunday.<\/p>\n
Joel Rivera, 44, was struck in the head with a blunt object in an apartment in the Muller Residences<\/a> in Wakefield about 7 p.m. Jan. 21, cops said.<\/p>\n Rivera lived in the building on Neried Ave. near Bullard Ave., which provides affordable and supportive housing for veterans.<\/p>\n A worker at the apartment building said that Rivera and his attacker got into a fight, with the victim suffering bleeding to his brain.<\/p>\n Medics rushed Rivera unconscious and unresponsive to Jacobi Medical Center, where he died Jan. 27. The city Medical Examiner ruled his death a homicide on Feb. 6 after conducting an autopsy.<\/p>\n \u201cJoel\u2019s generosity extended beyond his life, as he was an organ donor, giving the gift of hope to others,\u201d Rivera\u2019s obitiary says.<\/p>\n On Feb. 14, cops arrested Richard Vasquez, 37, for murder. Vasquez lives with his grandparents a few blocks away from the Muller Residences.<\/p>\n Vasquez was ordered held without bail after being arraigned in Bronx Criminal Court. He is due back in court March 16.<\/p>\n An NYPD spokesman had no information about the motive behind the killing.<\/p>\n Rivera\u2019s cousin, Shyann Camacho, 26, told the Daily News that the killing came as a complete shock.<\/p>\n \u201cThis came from left field,\u201d Camacho said. \u201cNobody expected this at all.\u201d<\/p>\n Camacho described Rivera as \u201ca super charming, super funny, life-of-the-party kind of guy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe had a bunch of family,\u201d she added. \u201cOur family is super extended. Everybody was raised together.\u201d<\/p>\n The suspect\u2019s family is also shocked by the slaying.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s been living with me and my wife for three years,\u201d said Vasquez\u2019s grandfather Narisco Perez. \u201cHe moved from Albany. He has no other family in New York.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnything he did is new to me,\u201d he said of the murder charge against his grandson, adding that he doesn\u2019t recognize the name of the victim. \u201cI am 82. I can\u2019t tell him, \u2018Hey, what you doin?\u2019 I am old.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe was out most days all day. I don\u2019t know what he did outside,\u201d he added.\u00a0\u201cI don\u2019t know what he did for work \u2026 He liked to cook. He would sometimes cook for me and my wife.\u201d<\/p>\n Tributes to Rivera have poured in on social media and on an online obituary.<\/p>\n \u201cMy heart breaks as I write this. Big bro, Disco Ball extraordinaire, Joe Cheese, your most recent Don Juan D\u2019Marco,\u201d his sister, Giovanna Rivera, wrote on Facebook.<\/a> \u201cBoy you could tell a story, you always had the ones around you laughing. You lived life carefree, your way!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBig bro I miss you already,\u201d she added. \u201cI love you with ALL OF ME! I hope you knew that. Your name will live on FOREVER.\u201d<\/p>\n