By Gina Martinez
The mysterious death of a Ridgewood grandmother has been ruled a homicide, according to police.
Erika Kraus-Breslin’s corpse was found by police in her 65th Street home Oct. 5 after officers responded to a request from a family member to do a wellness check on the 85-year old. When officers arrived, Kraus-Breslin’s grandson, 30-year-old Christopher Fuhrer, immediately told officers his grandmother had died and directed police to a bedroom where her dead body was discovered in multiple layers of plastic bags, police said.
Fuhrer told officers Kraus-Breslin died May 21. He said that she suffered from discomfort from bed sores, so he turned her on her side and left the room. When he returned, he found her face down and unresponsive. Fuhrer covered the smell of the decaying body with air fresheners, police said.
On Oct. 6 police arrested the 30-year-old and charged him with not reporting death, removing a body without a permit, improper burial and concealing a corpse.
Fuhrer was arraigned Oct. 7 and charged with felony concealment of a corpse, the Queens district attorney said. Bail was set to $350,000.
The medical examiner’s office determined this week that Kraus-Breslin succumbed in May 2016 to homicidal asphyxiation from neck compression. Furher has not been charged with the homicide. Police said investigations were ongoing.
Kraus-Breslin emigrated from Germany and had two children and four grandkids. She was married until her husband died 15 years ago. Kraus-Breslin worked part time at Rudy’s Bakery in Ridgewood. The owner, Toni Binati, described Kraus-Breslin as someone who never acted her age, was active and healthy and loved the outdoors. According to Binati, Fuhrer moved in with his grandmother after trouble with his mother and became Kraus-Breslin’s main caregiver.
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