Teens held in murder of Howard Beach man

Two 17-year-old Jamaica teens are being held without bail after confessing to the murder of John Canora, a 55-year-old Howard Beach resident. The pair alleged that Canora made unwelcome sexual advances after inviting them into his home to smoke pot and watch porn.
A confession by Billy Ray Staton of 177th Street in Jamaica, was read during the arraignment at Queens Criminal Court in Kew Gardens on Friday, November 10. &#8220The guy put porno movies [on] and wanted to have sex with me. He tried to take his pants off, I said ‘No.’ I choked him and let him drop when he went limp,” Staton said.
Following the mid-October murder of Canora in his tidy, two-story home at 164-20 96th Street, Staton and his friend, Alex Brown, of Liberty Avenue in Jamaica, allegedly stole pornographic tapes and $30 which they split between them to later buy sandwiches and candy.
Staton further admitted the two stole Canora’s red Hyundai which they drove to Far Rockaway.
An unidentified relative discovered Canora’s body on Saturday, November 4 after going to check on him, concerned about not hearing from him for several weeks. The relative then alerted police after finding his gagged, bound and beaten body in the basement.
Canora had been bludgeoned so severely, he was unrecognizable and had to be identified by his dental records and fingerprints
Police had responded to a missing person call at Canora’s home on November 4, but left after they found nothing amiss, according to a police source. A New York Police Department (NYPD) spokesperson said that, &#8220Police can’t just start breaking doors down.” They may only enter the home if a family member is there and gives consent or if the police have reason to believe someone inside is in grave danger or dead.
Staton and Brown were arrested for the murder on Thursday, November 9.
According to court documents, Staton and Brown, acting together, choked Canora and struck him in the head repeatedly with an aluminum bat and a fire extinguisher. Later, they wiped the floors down with bleach in an attempt to hide the crime.
In a statement to police introduced at the arraignment, however, Staton seemed to implicate Brown in Canora’s death. &#8220[Brown] sprayed the room with the fire extinguisher and hit the man in the head with it. [Brown] tied him up with a cord and wrapped him in sheets, and then we carried him to the stairs, kicked him down and lifted him into the hole.”
Police were tipped off to the alleged killers’ identities after an investigation following the arrest of Daquan McGill, 19 (a.k.a. Dee-Bo), on Wednesday, October 18. McGill, a friend of Staton and Brown’s, was stopped while driving Canora’s car and carrying a set of his keys at the time. Police released him after they were unable to contact Canora about McGill's possession of the vehicle and keys.
Appearing before Judge Gene Lopez, Staton and Brown were both charged with second degree murder, burglary, robbery, tampering and criminal possession of a weapon. Brown faces the additional charge of resisting arrest after punching a police officer to avoid being handcuffed.
If found guilty of the charges, Staton and Brown, who next appear in court on November 27, could each face up to 25 years to life in prison.