Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Dispute over illegal apartment rent turns deadly


From the Daily News:

A dispute over unpaid rent ended in horror Tuesday when a Queens landlord hacked his female tenant to death with a machete and then used the blade to end his life, police said.

Hettie Patterson’s screams drew the attention of neighbors as her landlord, Eulith Reid, attacked her with the machete in the backyard of his subdivided home on 143rd St. in Jamaica.

He struck at her head with deadly force.

A teenage boy who lives in a second-floor apartment in the home heard her cries, and ran outside to help, wearing only boxer shorts and a T-shirt.

But Reid, bloody blade in hand, rushed at the teen, and the boy quickly hopped a fence and called 911 from a neighbor’s home, his mother said, refusing to give her name.

Police showed up to the home about 11:30 a.m. They found a gruesome scene: Patterson, 48, a mother of four grown children who lived in a basement apartment, was sprawled out in the backyard, near death. Reid, 61, was found in his first-floor apartment. He had slit his throat and his wrists, police said. The machete was found near his body.

Both died at Jamaica Hospital, police said.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Uh...that's why 311 callers reporting illegal apartments should remain anonymous.

Imagine if you had to give your name and risk facing some crazy landlord or tenant after you've tuned them in?

Anonymous said...

That's how sick the landlords are in Queens.
they were both immigrants. why no mention of their legal status? were both landlord and tenant illegal aliens?

Anonymous said...

DOB should start doing it's job.
Crap like this should never happen.

Al Chapman said...

Classic case of tenant threatening to call the DOB on landlord because tenant didn't have the rent for that month.

Who knows what else tenant told landlord.

Landlord becomes enraged at threats resulting in murder of tenant.

Landlord races to first-floor apartment. Kills himself after the adrenaline slows and realizes what he's done.

The solution:

1. Don't rent basement apartment as both landlord and tenant are at risk.

2. Use a "middle man" to collect rent, i.e. property management agency or family member.

A tragedy nonetheless.

My condolences are with both families.

Anonymous said...

Where or what agency do you contact for an illegal pool in Howard Beach Queens NY?