SOHO —The death of an 83-year-old man who died after being beaten during a home robbery has been classified as the 6th Precinct's first homicide of the year, police said at a community meeting Thursday night.
Village resident Joseph Sibilla was attacked in an invasion of his 31 W. 13th St. home the afternoon of April 29, police said. He died at Beth Israel Hospital less than two weeks later, on May 10.
The city medical examiner's office ruled Sibilla's death a homicide on Aug. 18 and determined that he died of "complications following blunt force trauma to the head with facial fractures" incurred during the burglary, spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said Friday.
Sixth Precinct Commanding Officer Brandon del Pozo said Sibilla's age was a factor in the three-month-long investigation of his death.
"The medical examiner took a while to categorize his death as a homicide because he was old enough and the causes of his death were complicated enough that there was no clear nexus between what happened that day and his death," del Pozo said.
Investigations by police and the medical examiner last as long as necessary, Borakove said.
Del Pozo said the suspect, who police said stole Sibilla's wallet, is in jail now. He's being held on unrelated burglary charges, he said.
"The person who the police department believes did it is in custody now, on burglary. He's in Riker's Island. He's not going anywhere," he said.
Del Pozo said that the suspect will be prosecuted for burglary even if he cannot be prosecuted for homicide, "which is a very difficult case for us to make."
One person was murdered in the 6th Precinct in 2010 and in 2009, according to DNAinfo's Crime & Safety Report. According to NYPD data, the area's murder rate is down 75 percent from 1998, when four people were murdered.
