An East Elmhurst man is facing 50 years to life in prison after he was convicted by a jury on Thursday of killing his mother and brother in the family home they shared in July 2023, and then dragging a garbage bag containing the body of his sibling from the house to a nearby curb.
Roscoe Danielson, 42, previously of 104th Street, was found guilty following a two-week trial in Queens Supreme Court of two counts of murder in the first degree, weapons possession, tampering with physical evidence, concealment of a human corpse, endangering the welfare of a child, and other related crimes. The jury deliberated for just three hours before reaching a verdict.
According to the charges and trial testimony, at approximately 8:18 a.m. on July 5, 2023, Danielson dragged a large black trash bag from his home at 32-41 104th St. and left it at the curb. Later that day, at around 2 p.m., police from the 115th Precinct responded to a 911 call from a neighbor who smelled a foul odor emanating from a garbage bag. Officers opened it and found the decomposing body of 31-year-old Kyle Danielson — Roscoe Danielson’s younger brother — wrapped in plastic bags and blankets. He had been shot in the torso and suffered approximately 50 stab wounds to his head, neck, and chest.
The defendant was apprehended after being spotted at approximately 8 p.m. on July 5, 2023, pushing his young son in a stroller with a black bag hanging from the handle. Danielson was taken into custody, and following a court-authorized search of the stroller and bag, a 9 mm handgun and a knife were recovered.
Police executed a court-authorized search warrant at Danielson’s family home at around 2:30 a.m. on July 6 and found the decomposing body of Danielson’s mother, Cheryl Myrick, in a second-floor bedroom. Myrick died as a result of being stabbed roughly 38 times in her neck and torso. Both victims were killed on July 4, 2023, according to trial records.
“The defendant violently murdered his mother and brother and then cruelly attempted to dispose of his brother’s body in the trash,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “This was a completely senseless crime that will affect family members and friends of Cheryl Myrick and Kyle Danielson for years to come.”
Trial openings began on Sept. 10, and closing arguments took place on Sept. 24. Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder, who presided at trial, set sentencing for Oct. 27.
“The defendant now faces up to 50 years to life in prison for the heinous crimes when he is sentenced on Oct. 27,” Katz said.
