A manhunt in southeast Queens has intensified after investigators identified a person of interest in the triple homicide in South Jamaica on Friday, June 24.
The NYPD released surveillance photos of Travis Blake, a 29-year-old man who detectives determined lived at the single-family home on 155th Street near 116th Road.
Investigators believe Blake was dating 22-year-old Vashawnna Malcolm, who was discovered dead in a second-floor bedroom bound and gagged by duct tape with multiple stab wounds by officers from the 113th Precinct in Jamaica.
A further search of the home led police to a South Jamaica basement where her son Dervon Brightly, 36, and a family friend, 55-year-old Karlene Barnett, were found with multiple stab wounds and Brightly had head trauma, according to the NYPD. EMS responded to the crime scene and declared all three dead.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine the exact cause of death for each victim and no arrests have been made, according to an NYPD spokeswoman.
Blake is described as a Black man who is approximately 6 feet tall and approximately 280 pounds, police said. He has brown eyes and black hair with a close cut hairstyle. He was last seen walking northbound on 155th Street after leaving the house of horrors and he was last seen wearing a white T-shirt and black pants.
Anyone with information in regard to the identity of the suspects is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at nypdcrimestoppers.com, or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
