Police apprehend suspect, 47, in the 74-year-old woman's murder in New York City who was discovered bound and gagged
The unsettling death of an elderly Manhattan woman who was discovered bound and gagged in her Upper West Side apartment has led to the arrest of a Brooklyn man.
Maria Hernandez, 74, died on Saturday afternoon, and Lashawn Mackey, 47, of Bergen Street, was charged with murder, attempted murder, and two charges of burglary, according to the police.
As he was being carried by investigators out of the 20th Precinct, Mackey told reporters, "I'm innocent."
"Tell them I'm innocent,"
Investigate the crime site for DNA evidence. For it, ask them. Ask them. Before being taken away by investigators, he pleaded from the back of a police car.
About 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Hernandez's sister, Maria Terrero, went to check on her and returned with her brother's mangled body.
On the floor of her bedroom in her third-story apartment on West 83rd Street, Hernandez was found face-down.
According to informants and the police, the house had been ransacked. Hernandez's asphyxial death was determined by the medical examiner.
She was discovered with bruises and fractures, according to police sources. Two police officers had earlier on Saturday waited at the victim's apartment door.
Hernandez's building's superintendent disclosed to The Post on Friday that someone broke into the basement to grab the security video using "a hammer and a crowbar."
When asked if she was related to the victim, a young woman who was walking inside the building carrying what looked to be clothing gulped back tears.
It's quite difficult for me and my family. The district attorney and the police have already been contacted. Without identifying herself, the woman continued, "I don't want to talk anymore.
According to a source, Mackey was a "temporary employee" of Hernandez's building and may have been employed under a program that helps people who have served jail or prison sentences but are unable to obtain employment elsewhere.
The insider continued, "He's a really horrible man."