THE BRONX — A 68-year-old nurse was killed in the stairwell of a Melrose housing project on Wednesday afternoon, police said.
Eric Simmons was found lying unconscious with blunt force trauma and about five cuts to his head in the stairwell of 320 E. 156th St., in the Melrose Houses near Cortland Avenue, between the 8th and 9th floors about 1 p.m., according to the NYPD.
Simmons, of Morris Heights, suffered severe head trauma and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Invesitgators initially believed that Simmons may have fallen and hit his head, but the city's medical examiner's office ruled his death a homicide by blunt force trauma to his head, police said.
"We’re trying to figure out what happened. We do have some video of him walking in the street about two hours earlier with an individual," said the NYPD's chief of detectives, Robert Boyce.
Investigators don't believe robbery was the motive for Simmons' death.
"He had his wallet, his rings and his watch on him," Boyce said.
Simmons had nine prior convictions and had been arrested three times — 2001, 2004 and 2006 — for criminal possession of a controlled substance, police said. A bag of heroin was found near his body, a source said.
Simmons worked in the nursing department at Lincoln Hospital from 1975 until 2013, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
Friends of Simmons said they were shocked to hear about his death and described him as an extremely friendly and peaceful man.
"Nobody would ever believe that this would happen to him. Nobody," said Michelle Love, who said she had known Simmons for more then 20 years. "Because he was too nice of a man."
No arrests had been made as of Thursday morning, but police said their investigation continues.
Additional reporting by Murray Weiss.
