Saturday, May 13, 2006
Arrest in Elevator Robbery That Killed Frum 81 Year old Man
A 24-year old man who the police said robbed and fatally beat an 81-year old retired lamp shop owner in an elevator this month was arrested Friday night and charged with murder, the police said.
The man, William Hill, who is homeless, is being investigated in a string of similar attacks that occurred last year in the elevators of buildings in the Fort George neighborhood of Manhattan, the police said.
On May 2, Mr. Hill followed the lamp shop owner, Jacob Gerstle, into the elevator in his building at 105 Bennett Avenue, near 186th Street, the police said. Then, they said, Mr. Hill — who, at 6-foot-7, towered over Mr. Gerstle — punched him in the face and stole his wallet, which Mr. Gerstle's relatives estimated had held about $250. Mr. Gerstle, who had severe bleeding in the brain, was in a coma for three days before he died, the authorities said.
A surveillance camera captured the moments before and after the robbery, and the police distributed images of Mr. Gerstle's attacker. On Friday night, after receiving several tips from the public, the police found Mr. Hill at 144th Street and Lenox Avenue, and arrested him after a short chase, Capt. Geoffrey Hart said.
Mr. Hill, who was to be arraigned yesterday evening in Manhattan Criminal Court, served time in prison on an attempted robbery conviction beginning in October 2005 and was released in March, according to state records. Investigators were still trying to determine whether he was responsible for four other attacks that took place between May and August 2005. Those attacks, on people who ranged in age from 69 to 84 years old, involved assaults and robberies in elevators. Amarilis Gabriel, who lives in Mr. Gerstle's six-story building, said she told her two young daughters to start taking the stairs. "It's such a relief," she said of the arrest on Friday.
"It's such a horrible thing to happen to the sweetest person in the building," she said, referring to Mr. Gerstle. "Such a nice gentleman."
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/14/nyregion/14arrest.html
A 24-year old man who the police said robbed and fatally beat an 81-year old retired lamp shop owner in an elevator this month was arrested Friday night and charged with murder, the police said.
The man, William Hill, who is homeless, is being investigated in a string of similar attacks that occurred last year in the elevators of buildings in the Fort George neighborhood of Manhattan, the police said.
On May 2, Mr. Hill followed the lamp shop owner, Jacob Gerstle, into the elevator in his building at 105 Bennett Avenue, near 186th Street, the police said. Then, they said, Mr. Hill — who, at 6-foot-7, towered over Mr. Gerstle — punched him in the face and stole his wallet, which Mr. Gerstle's relatives estimated had held about $250. Mr. Gerstle, who had severe bleeding in the brain, was in a coma for three days before he died, the authorities said.
A surveillance camera captured the moments before and after the robbery, and the police distributed images of Mr. Gerstle's attacker. On Friday night, after receiving several tips from the public, the police found Mr. Hill at 144th Street and Lenox Avenue, and arrested him after a short chase, Capt. Geoffrey Hart said.
Mr. Hill, who was to be arraigned yesterday evening in Manhattan Criminal Court, served time in prison on an attempted robbery conviction beginning in October 2005 and was released in March, according to state records. Investigators were still trying to determine whether he was responsible for four other attacks that took place between May and August 2005. Those attacks, on people who ranged in age from 69 to 84 years old, involved assaults and robberies in elevators. Amarilis Gabriel, who lives in Mr. Gerstle's six-story building, said she told her two young daughters to start taking the stairs. "It's such a relief," she said of the arrest on Friday.
"It's such a horrible thing to happen to the sweetest person in the building," she said, referring to Mr. Gerstle. "Such a nice gentleman."
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/14/nyregion/14arrest.html
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