Clock’s ticking
Slay suspect extradition unlikely before deport
A SUSPECT in the 2000 unsolved murder of a Bronx woman will be deported to his native Honduras next week unless authorities in Texas extradite the man to New York City.
Aida Rodriguez, 64, was found strangled, blindfolded and bruised inside her Melrose apartment in the summer of 2000, and police struggled to track down leads in the case until late 2013 when semen found inside her body led authorities to an undocumented man in a Texas prison, her sons claim.
But despite a DNA match to the man authorities call Mr. Honduras, Bronx District Attorney Gang Prevention Chief Edward Talty told brothers Nelson and Fernando Sierra that he did not have enough evidence to bring the man to trial.
Texas authorities plan to deport the suspect next week.
“Time is of the essence,” Nelson Sierra told the Daily News on Thursday. “Once this guy is deported, we lose any possibilities of furthering this.”
Bronx detectives traveled to Texas and interrogated the man for nine hours in December and believed he had something to do with Rodriguez’s murder, according to the Sierra brothers. The siblings said the detective told them the man initially claimed he didn’t know Rodriguez, but when confronted with the DNA evidence, he changed his tune, claiming the pair had a relationship.
In order to extradite the man, the district attorney’s office would have to file charges and then petition the governor’s office to begin legal proceedings in Texas.
Steven Reed, spokesman for the Bronx District Attorney, declined to comment on the case Thursday, but did say his office has been keeping the Rodriguez family updated.
“The death of Aida Rodriguez is the subject of an open and active investigation,” said Reed. “Beyond that, we cannot comment.”
NYPD officials Thursday said they were pursuing the case. “This is an active investigation,” deputy chief Kim Royster said. “The NYPD is working with several law enforcement partners to identify and arrest the individual [or individuals] responsible for this crime.”
Rodriguez was well-known in the neighborhood for reading tarot cards and for her devoted practice of Santeria, her sons said. Nothing was taken from the apartment on the night of the murder, except for the jewelry she was wearing, they said.
“She did card readings, but that’s no reason for someone to be killed,” said Nelson Sierra, adding, “She was so giving, so trustworthy. She became a victim of her kindness.”
The brothers said they simply want justice for their mother.
“I’d rather take a chance in court and have some closure,” said Fernando Sierra, 51. “If they’ve got a DNA match, then what’s the problem? I’m scared that the system will step all over me and my family again.”