On Wednesday, July 24, 2024, a 54-year-old woman was found dead in her Brooklyn, New York City apartment, alongside a corpse believed to be her nephew. The discovery was made by a friend who routinely bought groceries for her and hadn’t heard from her since July 17.
The friend, concerned after smelling a foul odor emanating from the apartment on Ditmas Avenue near East Seventh Street, in the Kensington neighborhood, called the police at 10:19 a.m. Upon arrival, officers found the decomposing bodies of the woman and a man believed to be in his 20s. Both appeared to have been stabbed multiple times, according to police sources. There was a knife found by one of the bodies.
Neighbors described the woman as a long-time resident who had lived in the apartment with her parents until their deaths about five years ago. “She looked like her regular self,” said one tenant, who last saw her late last week. “She didn’t seem to be in any distress or anything out of her ordinary.”
The identities of both victims were not immediately released. The medical examiner’s office will determine the official cause of death. A police source indicated that the woman had been repeatedly stabbed, but further details are pending the autopsy results.
Neighbors in the building had also noticed the foul smell in recent days but had attributed it to the sewer. “We came into the building and saw the crime scene and were like, ‘Oh, that’s what we smelled,'” said Cheque Horton, 47, a neighbor who recalled the woman knocking on his door in the past for sugar and other random items.
A building tenant, who asked to remain anonymous, recalled noticing the smell but did not immediately suspect anything was wrong. “What is that? Is that the smell of death?” she wondered when she detected the odor still lingering on the building’s third floor on Thursday.
The woman was often seen around the neighborhood, sometimes muttering to herself. Despite her solitary lifestyle, she was known to a few neighbors who occasionally interacted with her.
While the investigation is ongoing, the police have not released any information regarding potential suspects or motives. The double homicide has left the Kensington community in shock as residents grapple with the disturbing news.
The police are urging anyone with information to come forward to assist with the investigation. This incident adds to the rising number of violent crimes reported in Brooklyn this year, raising concerns among local residents about safety in their community.
