Woman, 97, dead
Niece, 50, yells, ‘I killed her,’ authorities say
A churchgoing grandmother was found dead on the floor of her Lower East Side apartment, with her niece screaming “I killed her!” when police arrived at the 97-year-old woman’s home, authorities said Saturday.
The niece was taken to Bellevue Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation after police summoned to the victim’s apartment in the Baruch Houses on Columbia St. discovered the older woman’s lifeless body about 9 a.m. on Friday, officials said. No charges were filed as of Saturday.
But neighbors said the 50-year-niece howled that she was responsible for the death as police led her from the building, shouting, “I killed her! I killed her!”
The victim, identified by family and neighbors as Antonia Cardona, moved to the city more than seven decades ago and loved to walk around town until her health began to fail, said her grandson Chris Cardona. “For her age, she was in really good health,” said the grandson from his home in Oklahoma. “She wasn’t scared of anything. But these last couple of years, her health has went down.”
His brother Andrew said family members “thought it was probably foul play. It’s been pretty tough.”
The elderly woman suffered bruises and a cut on her wrist, but the cause of death was not yet determined and an autopsy was planned, authorities said.
Chris Cardona said his grandmother was a beloved family figure who helped an assortment of relatives with financial issues over the years.
“I really hope the cops investigate this well,” said Chris Cardona. “I don’t know 100%, but it had to be about money.”
A neighbor said the senior citizen frequently argued with a family member over unspecified issues.
“It’s a damn shame,” said the neighbor, who declined to give her name. “She didn’t bother anybody.”
Chris Cardona said a male cousin in New York stopped by to check on the family matriarch almost every day, and the man last called her a day or two before the body was found.
The niece apparently came by quite often to help the elderly victim get in and out of the bathroom, he added.
Neighbors said Antonia was a regular church attendee at nearby Our Lady of Sorrows Parish, walking a few blocks each day for the 10 a.m. Mass.
“Your own family, you got to be careful with,” said another neighbor. “An elderly lady like that, for someone to take her life like that, it’s sad.”
Chris Cardona said it was hard to describe his emotions about the shocking death.
“Pretty much everything,” he said. “I mean, sad for the loss. Anger toward the person, more anger toward the person knowing it may have been over money.”