Roomie eyed in gruesome slay in Queens apt.

BY KERRY BURKE, NICHOLAS WILLIAMS, ROCCO PARASCANDOLA AND THOMAS TRACY

A man found disemboweled inside his Queens apartment may have been killed by a new roommate during a booze-fueled brawl, police sources said Wednesday.

Jose Gonzalez, 35, was found dead inside his fourth-floor home on 40th Road near 100th St. in Corona about 6 p.m. on Tuesday when a neighbor went to collect rent money, police sources said. He was discovered facedown on a bed in his own blood, the sources said.

A relative told the Daily News that Gonzalez was the father of a teenage son in Ecuador.

Gonzalez had been repeatedly stabbed in the neck, shoulder, arms and stomach. The wounds were so deep his intestines were hanging out of his body, police sources said.

Neighbors who shared space with Gonzalez on the fourth floor told police the victim had recently gotten a new roommate and the two would drink heavily together.

“He was already dead when they found him in his room. I know nothing about the Colombian,” said his niece Erica Sumba, 22, referring to Gonzalez’s roommate. “I feel really terrible about what happened to him. He is my only family in this country. I have no words,” she told The News, crying as she spoke.

No one had seen Gonzalez since 3 p.m. on Sunday, neighbors told police. At least one neighbor had seen a red liquid seeping out of Gonzalez’s door but believed it was a spilled alcoholic drink. The liquid had been cleaned up a day later, presumably by the killer, police sources said.

Gonzalez’s death was deemed a homicide Wednesday by cops.

Gonzalez came to New York from Ecuador about 13 years ago, and did construction and restaurant work, his niece said. “He has one son, and he was divorced. Our whole family is in Ecuador,” she said. “He was very responsible. He was such a great working man . ... He sent money home faithfully to support his 17-yearold son.”

Police are looking to question the victim’s new roommate. No arrests have been made.

“This just came to me as a surprise. I heard it last night and I was shocked,” said 25-year-old Katherine Aguayza, who lives on the block.

Other neighbors felt something suspicious was happening in the victim’s building, where tenants rent out rooms. “This block is quiet,” said Eric Arias, who lives across the street. “The only action is from that building. I’m not surprised something happened. There’s a lot of people going in and out.”