By Nicole Flatow
A mysterious man who neighbors said kept to himself was shot and killed Friday morning on Moline Avenue in Queens Village after two men came to his door Friday morning, police said.
Fabian Ceballos, 28, was shot at 12:43 a.m. after answering a knock on the door at his home at 89-18 Moline St., police said. He was then taken to Long Island Jewish Medical Center and died at about 1:55 a.m., police said.
He died of a gunshot wound to the chest, said a spokeswoman for the city medical examiner.
A detective in the 105th Precinct said two men arrived at Ceballo's door but gave no further details about the shooting. Ceballos' girlfriend was in his house at the time, although he lived alone, the detective said.
No arrests had been made as of Tuesday evening and the motive for the murder was still unknown.
“I never knew the guy,” said Spiro Alexakis, the son of one of Ceballos' neighbors. Alexakis, who visited his parents often, said Ceballos was just a friendly face on the block. “I always said hello to him and that's it. He seemed very nice to me.”
But Alexakis also said he never knew the victim's name. “He was very to himself,” he added.
Ceballos lived in an attached house on a quiet middle-class block in Queens Village just two blocks from the Bellerose border.
Rose Funderbunk, president of the 105th Precinct Community Council, said murders were uncommon in Queens Village and Bellerose. But one neighbor several houses down the block said he was not surprised at the killing.
He said he often heard Ceballos having suspicious conversations on his cell phone and driving up and down the street.
“Personally, as far as all the people on the block are concerned it's good riddance,” said the neighbor, who did not wish to be identified.
He said Ceballos had a fire in his garage a couple of years ago.
An older couple who lived next door to Ceballos said they did not even hear the shots.
“I was sleeping and then when the police knocked on my door, I was shocked,” said a next-door neighbor.
The house and a few houses on either side were still cordoned off Monday with a police car standing watch.
A bouquet of flowers was attached to a pole in front of the house along with a note: “Fabian, we love you always and we will always have your memory in our hearts.” Candles with pictures of Jesus were placed on the floor next to the pole. By Tuesday the bouquet had been placed on a car in front of the house, with the candles underneath the car.
There have been 10 murders in the 105th Precinct in 2003, up from seven in the same period last year, according to the latest crime statistics supplied by the Police Department.
Reach reporter Nicole Flatow by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.
