Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Teenager Arrested After Man's Body Found Decapitated in Basement Apartment

By Emily Morris | December 25, 2013 8:20am | Updated on December 25, 2013 2:00pm
 The discovery was made in the 2500 block of North Kildare Avenue in  Hermosa .
Man Found Decapitated in Basement Apartment
View Full Caption

HERMOSA — Authorities said a teenager was arrested after police found the decapitated body of a 41-year-old man early Christmas morning in what neighbors called a mostly "quiet" block.

Police were called to the 2500 block of North Kildare Avenue about 2:05 a.m. when they alerted to a possible homicide, said Officer Amina Greer, a police spokeswoman.

Officers found the body and took an 18-year-old man into "custody without incident," according to Greer. The body was found inside a basement apartment, authorities said.

A knife was recovered from the scene.

The victim's identity wasn't available Wednesday morning, and the relationship between him and the teenager was not clear.

The block tends to be "very quiet, even in the summertime, you don't hear nothing," said Alex Marrero, 58, who is around most days with his in-laws who live on Kildare.

Marrero said he was "shocked" when he learned what happened, because "nothing happens around here."

But neighbor Martha, who declined to give her last name, said though she hasn't heard anything happening at the apartment recently, things weren't always that silent.

"They used to come outside and fight," Martha said, referring to arguments among the people who lived at that apartment, whom she said she didn't know well. At one point, Martha saw a car outside the home with windows that had been smashed in.

The killing also happened in the same block where 19-year-old Miguel Delgado, who was shot dead in Wicker Park earlier this year, called home.

But Martha also echoed other neighbors who said that the block is generally peaceful, and that she hasn't seen much trouble in the area.

Police did not give further details about the gruesome killing Wednesday afternoon.