Fight to the death in Bronx
Assault vic left to rot
The owner of a Bronx apartment where police found the rotting remains of a man bound with duct tape allegedly assaulted the victim following an argument, according to new court documents.
Charles Votaw hit the victim, identified as Jason Nieves, inside his Fordham Heights residence on Creston Avenue near Field Place during a fight last week, a criminal complaint alleges.
When Nieves fell to the ground and lost consciousness, Votaw, 37, allegedly wrapped him from the waist down to the ankles in duct tape and slit his throat “in an effort to decapitate him,” the complaint says.
Then he allegedly placed a bag over Nieves’ head and cut his chest and each of his wrists to “dismember and conceal his remains,” according to the complaint.
The corpse was found when someone called the cops on Friday at around 2:30 p.m. to report a foul odor seeping through the walls.
Disturbed residents told NBC4 that the stench had been emanating from the apartment for days.
Responding officers had to take the door off of its hinges to enter the apartment.
Inside, they found the decomposing man with his legs tied to his torso and slashes to his chest and wrists, according to police.
“Nieves was only wearing his undergarments and all of his personal effects were missing from his person,” the complaint states.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
By Saturday, Votaw had been arrested and hit with charges of assault, concealment of a human corpse and tampering with physical evidence.
No motive was provided and authorities couldn’t say what the argument had been about or provide any details about the relationship between the two men.
Votaw lived inside the building but it is unclear if Nieves was also a resident.
The medical examiner will determine the cause of death, which may increase the charges, police said.
Votaw is being held at the Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center near Hunts Point. He’s scheduled to appear in Bronx Criminal Court on Thursday.
No attorney was listed for him.