An East Elmhurst man was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison on Monday for killing his mother and brother in July 2023.
Roscoe Danielson, 42, previously of 104th Street, was convicted last month of murder and concealing his brother’s body in a trash bag and dragging it from the family’s East Elmhurst home to a nearby curb. The remains of his mother were later found inside the home.
According to the charges and trial testimony, on July 5, 2023, at approximately 8:18 a.m., Danielson dragged a large black garbage bag along 104th Street and left it at the curb in front of 32-41 104th St. Later that day, a passerby called 911, reporting a strong odor and what looked like blood leaking from the trash bag.
Police from the 115th Precinct opened the bag and found the decomposing body of Danielson’s brother, 31-year-old Kyle Danielson, inside, wrapped in plastic bags and blankets, with a gunshot wound to his torso and approximately 50 stab wounds to his head, neck and body, according to the charges. EMS arrived and pronounced the man dead at the scene.
Danielson 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. He was taken into custody and, following a court-authorized search of the stroller and bag, a 9 mm handgun and a knife were found. Police executed a court-authorized search warrant at Danielson’s home at around 2:30 p.m. on July 6 and found the decomposing body of his 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.
“Roscoe Danielson murdered his mother and brother in one of the grisliest crime scenes we’ve ever encountered,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “The defendant stabbed his mother 38 times and knifed his brother 50 times, also shooting him in the torso.”
Danielson was found guilty in September following a two-week trial on two counts of murder in the second degree, criminal possession of a weapon, tampering with physical evidence, concealment of a human corpse, and endangering the welfare of a child.
Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder, who presided at trial, sentenced Danielson on Monday to 50 years to life in prison to be followed by five years of post-release supervision.
“Danielson compounded the brutality of his crime by hiding his brother’s body in a garbage bag and dragging it to the curb, and by leaving his mother to decompose in her East Elmhurst home,” Katz said. “We hope today’s sentence brings the family of Cheryl Myrick and Kyle Danielson a measure of solace as they continue to mourn.”
