By Patrick Donachie
Police were looking for a suspect and a motive in the Monday stabbing of the longtime superintendent for an apartment building in St. Albans.
Gary Nelson, 50, was found with multiple stab wounds to the chest in the boiler room of 123-27 Merrick Blvd., the building where he lived and worked for approximately 10 years, police said. Someone alerted Nelson’s girlfriend to the fact that he was in the basement, and when she found him, she contacted police, who responded at about 2:40 p.m., according to the NYPD.
Officers from the 113th Precinct and EMS workers responded to the scene, where Nelson was unconscious but responsive. He was taken to Jamaica Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Catherine Harris, a resident in the multi-story apartment buildings that ran almost the entire length of the block, said the she had last seen Nelson at about 10 a.m. She said he was taking out the garbage as he did every Monday, and that “everything seemed normal.”
“He was always smiling,” Harris said. The next time she saw Nelson was when the EMS workers wheeled him out of the building and into the ambulance for the trip to the hospital
The investigation continued into the next morning, with the entrance to the building still closed off by police at midday Tuesday. On the steps next to the entrance, someone had constructed a small cardboard sign that read “Rest in Peace Gary,” along with a lit candle decorated with the image of Santa Clara on the front. Police tape was wrapped around the area, protecting the makeshift memorial.
The building stretches most of the length of the city block, and resident Clinton John said Nelson had been the super for all of the properties in the complex. John lived in the building for 19 years, and knew Nelson during the entirety of his time as a super. He said Nelson was a “friendly guy,” noting that although Nelson occasionally had disputes and disagreements with some tenants in the building, they were typical issues between a super and a tenant. John could not recall anything out of the ordinary, and could not remember anyone who disliked Nelson.
“He was always very helpful with me,” John said, who recalled that nothing like this had occurred in the entire time period he lived in the building. “People die from natural deaths. Not like this.”
On social media, friends expressed outpourings of grief about Nelson’s death, with several posting pictures of the memorial set up on the stairs. One post remarked that July Fourth would “never be the same” after the murder.
There had been no arrests in the slaying as of press time, according to the police. Individuals with information about the incident can call NYPD Crime Stoppers at 1 (800) 577-TIPS.
Reach reporter Patrick Donachie by e-mail at pdona
