A 66-year-old man and his 55-year-old home health aide were found shot dead inside an East Harlem apartment Thursday night, police said.
According to officials, officers responded around 8:30 p.m. to a 911 call reporting a past assault at the Gaylord Houses. Both victims had been shot in the head and were pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
The victims were identified as 66-year-old Wilgen Elias Severino-Tatis and 55-year-old Elsa Espina-Espinal, officials said.
In an interview with NY1, Brady Severino, Severino-Tatis’ nephew, said his uncle rarely left home except for simple routines they shared.
“He didn’t do much. He was basically at home most of the time,” he said. “We would go down, take walks and stuff like that, but that was it.”
Severino said his uncle had suffered a stroke and struggled with circulation. He said Espina-Espinal had helped care for him for four years.
“She was married,” he said. “She has four kids. And actually, she was about to retire next month. And then this happened.”
Severino added that he could not understand why anyone would target his uncle.
“He barely knew anyone, just the people in the building,” he said. “I wouldn’t even dare to guess why someone would do that.”
Neighbor Cindy Rosa said she last spoke with Severino-Tatis on Wednesday and is now coping with anger and sadness.
“It’s going to be kind of lonely to come downstairs and he’s not there,” Rosa said.
She said that she hopes the person responsible is held accountable.
“I hope the person that did it will suffer the biggest consequences of his life because he didn’t deserve it,” she said.
Source: ny1.com
