A Queens grand jury indicted a Far Rockaway woman for allegedly strangling an older man to death in his supportive housing unit just blocks from her home in late January.
Odeylin Gonzalez, 33, of Birdsall Avenue, is being held without bail after she was arraigned in Queens Supreme Court late last month on an indictment charging her with murder in the second degree and criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation.
On Friday, Jan. 30, police received a 911 call for an unconscious man inside an apartment at the Barbara Faron Residence at 20-50 Nameoke Ave.
Officers from the 101st Precinct in Far Rockaway responded to the scene and found 59-year-old Felipe Gonzales in his unit, unresponsive with trauma to his head and face, according to the NYPD. EMS responded to the location and pronounced him dead at the scene.
His death was deemed a homicide on Friday, Feb, 6, by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Pursuant to an ongoing homicide investigation, detectives from the 101st Precinct arrested Odeylin Gonzalez on Feb. 25. She lived three blocks east of the Barbara Faron Residence, a nine-story low income building with a total of 117 units, 71 designated for formerly homeless in recovery from behavioral health conditions while the remaining 46 are to be designated for individuals and families who meet income eligibility requirements.
Gonzalez allegedly beat her victim and then choked him to death days before his body was discovered but the motive is unclear. A neighbor alerted staff at the residence after smelling a foul odor emanating from the victim’s apartment.
The defendant pleaded not guilty at her arraignment before Queens Supreme Court Justice Danielle Hatrman, who remanded Gonzalez into custody without bail. Her next court appearance was scheduled for March 2, but was adjourned to April 28, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
