UPPER EAST SIDE — Detectives believe they have identified a person of interest in the death of a 78-year-old who was found strangled in his East 64th Street apartment, authorities say.
Christopher Cooley, who lived on the 11th floor of 29 E. 64th St., near Madison Avenue, was found inside his apartment by the building's superintendent at roughly 8 p.m. on March 16 with a tie wrapped twice around his neck, sources said.
On Tuesday morning, the NYPD reclassified the death as a homicide, but no arrests have been made. Earlier the the medical examiner's office, but not the NYPD, had classified the case as a homicide.
Robert Boyce, chief of detectives for the NYPD, said Tuesday that the person of interest is male, but he did not release more details about the individual.
Boyce said he believes Cooley was murdered some time around March 2 or 3. Cooley was found on his couch in a seated position, and his body had been decomposing, according to sources.
"We didn’t discover the body until two weeks later, so it put us behind schedule, but we’re moving forward rather quickly with the case," Boyce said. “We have a substantial amount of forensic evidence recovered."
There was no sign of forced entry, police said. Cooley had about $190 in his wallet and was wearing a watch on his wrist. A lamp had been knocked over and there were shards of glass on him, sources said.
The investigation is ongoing, police said.
