Quantcast

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

Death of DUMBO Financier Found With Pillow Over Face Ruled a Homicide: NYPD

By  Trevor Kapp and Aidan Gardiner | August 24, 2017 12:02pm | Updated on August 24, 2017 4:42pm

 Neil Smith's death was ruled a homicide, but there were no arrests as of Thursday, police said.
Neil Smith's death was ruled a homicide, but there were no arrests as of Thursday, police said.
View Full Caption
Facebook/Neil Smith

DUMBO — The death of a financier whose naked body was found with a pillow over his face inside his Main Street apartment in June has been ruled a homicide, the NYPD said Thursday.

Neil Smith, 57, who had been the CEO of the finance company Infraccess, was discovered unconscious in his bed at 1 Main St., near Water Street, on June 19 around 1:45 p.m., police said.

Investigators believed the death was suspicious from the beginning, and it was later determined he was asphyxiated, law enforcement sources said.

A Colombian man who was staying in the apartment with his wife told detectives that Smith had a visitor over earlier that morning but that he never saw the guest, according to law enforcement sources and reports.

The Colombian man discovered Smith’s body hours later, the NYPD said.

There were no arrests as of Thursday morning, and police did not have a suspect description.  

Smith, who was born in Australia, attended Wharton and Cass business schools before entering finance and working institutions like Citibank and Bank of New York Mellon, according to friends and his social media.

"He's a genuine person, into the arts, good friend and funny. I wouldn't say anything negative. He was an extraordinary person," said Juan Calle, who'd known Smith for about 15 years.

"It's terrible. What happened is a tragedy for all the people who knew Neil," Calle added.