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Elderly Woman's Body Found Crammed into Harlem Closet

By Adam Nichols | March 31, 2011 1:53pm
The body of a 76-year-old woman was found in a closet in a Wagner Houses apartment.
The body of a 76-year-old woman was found in a closet in a Wagner Houses apartment.
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Ben Fractenberg/DNAinfo

By Adam Nichols and Ben Fractenberg

DNAinfo Staff

HARLEM — The body of a 76-year-old East Harlem woman was found crammed into a closet by relatives who walked in on her grandson having sex in the same room, according to a published report.

Cora Davis body was found buried under a pile of clothes in her Wagner Houses apartment on East 124th Street, the Daily News reported.

The grisly find was made shortly before 11 a.m Wednesday by two concerned relatives who hadn't heard from Davis in two days, police said.

They found Larry Davis, 21, having sex with a woman who police said had a history of prostitution, the newspaper reported.

"Where's Mama? Where's Mama?" one of the relatives shouted, police sources told the News.

Larry Davis left the apartment before police arrived. A search uncovered the elder Davis' body.

The Medical Examiner's office is investigating the cause of death.

Neighbors told DNAinfo that Davis and her grandson had a rocky relationship.

"She always had problems with him," friend Rosell McKenith, 84, said. "He gets angry for nothing."

She said Davis used to let her grandson stay in her apartment, but said she'd recently stopped letting him in.

The News reported the victim had an order of protection against her grandson, who neighbors said had a drug problem.

Investigators suspect the woman may have been strangled, the paper reported.

Neighbor Angel Rodriguez, 56, said he saw Larry Davis leaving the Wagner Houses Wednesday.

"He looked like himself, he didn't look agitated," Rodriguez said.

"I was shocked that happened to her," he added. "She was beautiful people."