A 74-year-old Manhattan lady was discovered dead in her apartment with hands and legs tied
The body of a 74-year-old woman was discovered inside her Upper West Side apartment on Friday, with her wrists and feet tied.
According to police sources, Maria Hernandez’s sister found her unresponsive on the floor of the apartment on West 83rd Street near Columbus Avenue at 9:55 p.m. on Wednesday. She was tied with rope and a sheet covered her face.
According to reports, Hernandez had been tied and gagged and had several fractures and bruises. She was declared dead at the spot by responding emergency personnel.
“We are all in shock. The question is – why would someone want to do that to our mother? Lucia Hernandez remarked.
Police said that Hernandez and her sister, who also resides in the same building but in a separate apartment, had attended a concert earlier in the evening and came home at approximately 6 o’clock. Reports indicate that at approximately 6:30 p.m., Hernandez was killed after a neighbour who was also celebrating a birthday brought some cake over to Hernandez’s apartment. There has been no confirmed sighting of Hernandez since then.
It was said that Hernandez’s daughter attempted calling her at around 8 p.m. but received no response. The death of Hernandez was discovered after her daughter contacted her aunt to see whether she was well.
“She was very friendly toward everybody here. She was always introducing us to her friends,” Carmen Taveras, another daughter recalled.
There were no traces of forced entry, but detectives made an inventory of the looted flat to ascertain if Hernandez, who lived alone, had been robbed.
The police think the incident began as a heist that quickly turned fatal and that the same individual broke into the superintendent’s office in the basement and stole the surveillance system. According to reports, investigators searching for security footage discovered the DVD was gone and wires were severed.
As of Friday night, no one has been taken into custody. A former construction worker is wanted for questioning by authorities.
Hernandez’s sister, Maria Terrero, has indicated that she has no idea who might want to harm her.
Terrero described her as “an excellent human being,” adding, “She was kind, loving, and wonderful.”