The Murder Book 2008

May 12th -- 1 dead in Brooklyn....

Saquan Toler, a 21-year-old black male, was found shot to death Sunday evening at the corner of Schenectady Avenue and Sterling Place in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, according to police reports. Toler was shot three times in the chest and taken to Kings County Hospital where he later died. No arrests.

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Read the full details of the murder that made rocked NYC -- "Death of a Dream" (the murder of dancer Catherine Woods and the trial of Paul Cortez) is now available everywhere by Paul LaRosa & Erin Moriarty. Reviewers called it: "compelling" and "a chilling good read." Available at bookstores under 'true crime' and online.

First chapter available free.

May 11th -- 3 dead, including Iraq War Vet...

Henry Frasier, a 41-year-old black male and a veteran of the first Iraq War, was stabbed to death Saturday night after a family gathering in Queens Village got out of control, according to police reports and briefs in the Daily News and the NY Post.

Three people were stabbed in all at the house located at 110-15 207th Street. Police arrested Benjamin Dunn, 30, a neighbor, and charged him with manslaughter and assault, according to a report in the NY Times. The Times story said that Frasier had been watching basketball at a relative's house when he stepped outside and got into an argument with Dunn. The report indicates that Frasier began the fight by smashing a bottle on the side of Dunn's head. Dunn fled but Frasier gave chase, and, according to the Times report, Dunn turned and slashed Frasier with a razor. The others were hurt trying to break up the fight.

Frasier's mother told The Times that her son had recently been suffering from depression and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. She told the Times that she blamed her son's tour of duty in Iraq for his problems: "He has been going through things. Depression, medication. They teach them to kill. They don’t realize how it affects them. After he came back, he wasn’t the same.”

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Anthony Nichols, a 43-year-old black male, was stabbed to death Saturday morning, allegedly by his live-in companion, Natasha Brown, 35, in the couple's first floor apartment at 300 Beach 88th Street in Rockaway, Queens, according to police reports and articles in the Daily News and NY Times.

Nichols' sister, who lived next door, called police after she heard the ruckus and cops got there just in time to spot and arrest Brown who was trying to make her escape through a window. The couple had no children but did have a history of domestic violence, and Brown reportedly had been arrested for physically abusing Nichols in the past, according to the Times. Brown yesterday was arrested and charged with second-degree murder.

A neighbor told the News that the couple fought often. "Did I expect it? Yeah," he told the paper.

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William McKinnon, a 46-year-old black male, was found shot to death Friday in a Harlem building where he lived and worked as a super, according to a report in the Daily News. McKinnon had been the super at the building -- located at 2355 Seventh Avenue -- for at least two years. He lived there with his half-brother William Stanback, and two pit bulls, according to the News article.

Stanback was the person who found McKinnon. He told the News that, after finding his half-brother shot in the head, he said: "Get up, get up. But he didn't." No arrests.

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May 10th -- 1 dead & guilty plea in Columbia U. student's death...

An unidentified 29-year-old male was found shot to death inside the elevator at 423 Baltic Street in the Boerum Hill section of Brooklyn, according to police and a brief in the NY Times. The building is part of the Gowanus Houses, and the body was found at 2 p.m. The male had been shot once in the head. No arrests.

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The 14-year-old boy -- now known as Sheldon J. -- who in April attacked Minghui Yu (photo left), a 24-year-old Asian Columbia University graduate student, causing Yu to run into traffic where he was run over and killed by a passing car, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and will be sentenced as a juvenile, according to a story in the NY Post. As a result, Sheldon will be imprisoned no more than 4 years and will be released when he is 18, if not earlier.

Yesterday, Yu's father Zhaofu Yu who, along with Yu's mother, had traveled here from China to recover their son's body, spoke at the boy's sentencing. With tears rolling down his face, he told the judge: "It is the tradition of the Chinese people for their children to support their parents when they grow old. The only thing we will have is deepest sorrow surrounded by bittersweet memories. We have to face every day with the unspeakable grief of the total loss of joy in our lives."

Among those moved to tears was Sheldon and his mother. The boy has been described as a troubled but nice kid by those who know him.

May 9th -- 1 dead, a 5-year-old boy...

Jordan McLean, a 5-year-old black boy, was killed early Thursday when he was thrown from an SUV driven by his aunt who swerved to avoid two cars that were drag-racing down a Queens street, according to an article on page 8 of the Daily News. One of the speeding cars hit the Ford, driven by Claire Edwards -- Jordan's aunt -- and the little boy was thrown from the car.

A witness told The News: "I just heard a boom and the car started spinning out. We pulled a lady out of the car and she started screaming, 'Where's my baby?' 'Where's my baby?' "

The driver and passengers of the BMW that hit Edwards' car fled and police later said they believed it was purchased by someone who had stolen another person's identity. The driver of the other car, a Jaguar, did not stop. That stretch of 109th Avenue is a well-known street for cars that illegally race. No arrests.

May 8th -- 1 dead in the Bronx....

Ivan Torres, a 30-year-old Latino male, was stabbed in the chest yesterday in front of 440 E. 182nd Street in the Tremont section of the Bronx, according to briefs in the Daily News and Post. Torres was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The man with whom Torres was arguing was arrested as the investigation continues.

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Read the full details of the murder that made rocked NYC -- "Death of a Dream" (the murder of dancer Catherine Woods and the trial of Paul Cortez) is now available everywhere by Paul LaRosa & Erin Moriarty. Reviewers called it: "compelling" and "a chilling good read." Available at bookstores under 'true crime' and online.

First chapter available free.

May 7th -- 0 new murders but -- in New Hampshire -- Yank fan kills Red Sox fan....

There were no new murders in NYC overnight but I can't resist bringing this one to you, courtesy of the NY Post.

Ivonne Hernandez, a 43-year-old Yankee fan who was raised in the Bronx, got so upset at taunting by Red Sox fans that she ran over and killed one with her car in Nashua, New Hampshire, over the weekend. After Red Sox fans began taunting Hernandez with chants of "Yankees suck," she gunned her engine and ran into Matthew Beaudoin, 29, who was trying to protect a nearby woman from getting stuck.

Hernandez was charged with murder and DWI, police said. Hernandez, the article states, had a living room festooned with Yankee memorabilia and loved Derek Jeter.

May 6th -- 2 dead...

An unidentified body stuffed into a plastic bag was found yesterday in the back of a black 1999 Lexus SUV, according to stories in the NY Post and Daily News. The body was discovered by a Sanitation worker who spotted a foot sticking out of the bag while he was examining the car which was left on Park Lane South in a wooded section of Forest Park, Queens.

News reports said the car was registered to Yufiy Grinchuk, 40, of Brooklyn, and records show that Grinchuk was arrested in Brooklyn in April on misdemeanor assault charges of roughing up his girlfriend. The body was sent to the medical's exminer's office for further testing.

The Post reported that a note was left with the body which claimed the victim was a "rat" who had been giving information to the police.

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Antonio Tate, a 24-year-old black male, was shot to death yesterday after getting into an argument with another man in front of 2991 8th Avenue in Harlem, according to briefs in the Post and Daily News. Tate was shot three times; no arrests.

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May 5th -- 0 new murders but cops seek help.....

The police are asking for the public's help to find the killer or killers who stabbed Alex Cruz, a 28-year-old Latino male, to death over the weekend after he tried to protect his brother from an angry mob, according to a story in the Daily News.

The attack happened in the Morrisania section of the Bronx after Alex spotted his brother Javier being chased by the mob. Alex came down to help and was promptly stabbed to death in his building's lobby.

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Read the full details of the murder that made rocked NYC -- "Death of a Dream" (the murder of dancer Catherine Woods and the trial of Paul Cortez) is now available everywhere by Paul LaRosa & Erin Moriarty. Reviewers called it: "compelling" and "a chilling good read." Available at bookstores under 'true crime' and online.

First chapter available free.

May 4th -- 1 dead and terrific story in Daily News on wife who killed cop...

Michael Varlack, a 35-year-old black male, was found shot to death early yesterday East 139th Street and Morris Avenue in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx. He was rushed to Lincoln Hospital, where he later died. No arrests.

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Veteran Daily News crime reporter Patrice O'Shaughnessy has a terrific interview and story in Sunday's News with Barbara Sheehan, the 47-year-old woman who admits shooting and killing her husband Ray, a retired police, last February while he shaved.

Sheehan paints a portrait of a horrendously abusive marriage in which husband Ray, called "a decent guy" by his police buddies, repeatedly and regularly beat his harried wife for years until she finally snapped.

"I think he probably would have killed me . . . he was just totally out of control by then," Sheehan, 47, told the Daily News.

To get the full power of the interview and abuse, read the Daily News story by clicking here.

May 3rd -- 4 dead...

Alex Cruz, a 28-year-old Latino male, was stabbed to death early Saturday when he left his Bronx apartment to aid his brother Javier Cruz, 34, who at the time was being chased in the street by an unruly mob, according to a story in the Daily News.

Alex saw what was happening and left the Intervale Avenue apartment he shared with his brother. When he got to the lobby of the building, he was stabbed repeatedly in the chest and neck. A relative told The News: "They were very close. They work together, they live together, they stay in the same room." No arrests.

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Courtney Charles, a 60-year-old black male, was shot in the head on Friday afternoon in the lobby of his building at 823 St. John’s Place in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, according to an article in the NY Times.

Charles, a Guyanese immigrant, was said to have received a phone call just before his murder, according to the story. Upon receipt of the call, Charles went to the building basement where he was shot. The Times reported that he was involved with a group of young reggae singers. No arrests.

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Michael Varlack, 35, described by the Daily News as "an ex-con" was shot to death on a South Bronx streetcorner during what may have been a fight over drug turf. No arrests.

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The Times also reported that Samuel Owens, a 44-year-old black male from the Bronx, died Saturday at Lincoln Hospital from stabbing injuries he received back on April 25 during a robbery on an uptown No. 6 train in East Harlem.

The Post story says Owens was attacked at East 110th Street and Lexington Avenue but did not immediately report the attack. Instead, he returned to his home, but his roommate eventually called an ambulance and Owens was taken to Lincoln Hospital. He was treated for a variety of injuries, including broken ribs died Friday of a pulmonary embolism while hospitalized, according to the Post. Police classified Owens' death a murder, believing that the beating directly contributed to his death.