New York Daily News

NYC man found tied up & killed in Brooklyn apt.

- BY THOMAS TRACY ELIZABETH KEOGH AND CATHY BURKE

A man was found dead, tied up hand and foot, in his Brooklyn apartment Friday, authoritie­s said — a savage slaying that sent shock waves through a four-story building that tenants said lacked security cameras in the hallways or outside.

The 46-year-old victim’s caretaker found him lying face down on the floor of the living room in his second-floor Crown Heights apartment around 10:40 a.m., police said.

It wasn’t clear if anything was taken from the apartment in the building at St. Marks Ave. near Rochester Ave., police said.

The victim’s hands were tied behind his back and his ankles were bound together, said police. He was not immediatel­y identified.

Prentis Holder, who lives across the hall from the victim, said he heard no sign of the violence inside his neighbor’s home.

“I didn’t hear nothing — that’s what gets me really upset,” Holder said. “I don’t know why I didn’t hear no noise because I’m right across the rental from him.”

“He was a good guy,” Holder said of the victim. “He was a nice man. He stayed to himself. He had a job and he was very independen­t and I don’t know why this happened . ... It really gets me.”

“I don’t know why I didn’t hear no noise because I’m right across the rental from him.”

Holder added that he never saw anyone “bothering” the victim. “I’m really sorry that happened to him,” he said.

Another building resident said she wished there was more security in the building.

“I’ve been here for 20 years,” said the woman, who did not want to be identified. “It’s 48 apartments in here and you don’t know everybody, but I’d see him coming and going.”

Another tenant, who would only give his first name, Jay, echoed the woman’s call for more security, calling the building “shady” because of the threat of gangs in the neighborho­od.

“They need more cameras in the building and hallways,” he said. “They need to keep the back door closed. Anyone can come in and escape easily.”

“There’s a security booth but there’s no security there,” he said.

An autopsy was expected to determine the cause of the man’s death. There were no immediate arrests.

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