By Jeremy Walsh
A woman is dead in Woodside and a homeless man is behind bars on charges of killing her Saturday night, police said.
The incident occurred at 10:30 p.m. at the corner of 64th Street and Laurel Hill Boulevard, police said. The suspect, 45-year-old Michael Bohan, held a knife to 59-year-old Carol Christianson's throat, stabbed her in the chest, punched, kicked and choked her, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Queens district attorney's office.
Christianson was pronounced dead at the scene. The city medical examiner said she died as a result of manual strangulation. Police had not released any information about her place of residence by press time Tuesday.
Police arrested Bohan at 12:55 a.m. Sunday morning on suspicion of murder. He was arraigned Monday in Queens Criminal Court on charges of second-degree murder and criminal weapons possession, the Queens district attorney's office said. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison, the DA's office said.
Bohan was convicted of an assault in Queens in September 2007, court papers show.
Residents who live near the corner, which features a city park with basketball courts and a playground, said they did not know about the murder.
“This neighborhood is ridiculously quiet,” said resident Kathy Andrews, 27, who has lived there for 20 years. “It's one of those areas where the traffic you see is kids from the park and cars that drive around. And you pretty much know all those cars.”
Andrews said the neighborhood does have several regular homeless people, including one Croatian woman who travels between Woodside, Maspeth and Middle Village.
Reach reporter Jeremy Walsh by e-mail at jwalsh@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.
