NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – Police are searching for the alleged killer of a 61-year-old man, who was chased into the lobby of his Bronx apartment building and stabbed in the neck last Friday—in a possible mix-up over a backpack.
The NYPD released surveillance footage Wednesday of the suspect they're after in the fatal stabbing of Tyrone Padilla at his building on Crestone Avenue, near East 184th Street, in Fordham Heights.
According to police, Padilla's killer pursued him into the building around 1:20 a.m., and as the victim tried to get away from him, he stabbed him twice in the neck and armpit.
The stabber fled the building, while Padilla was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital and pronounced dead.
Padilla had autism and obsessive-compulsive disorder, his family told the New York Post, and was known to pick up various items off the ground.
This has led investigators to suspect he may have inadvertently lifted the backpack of his killer, who police said was seen carrying the bag on surveillance video before the stabbing. In video showing him pursuing Padilla, he no longer has the bag with him.
Speaking with reporters Tuesday, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said, "It possibly could be that he picked up this person’s backpack by accident, which resulted in a confrontation."
"From speaking to people in the building and relatives, as part of our victim's autistic tendencies, he has a habit of picking things up off the ground," Kenny said, noting the victim was seen on video carrying a chair and is known to pick up trash around his building.
A backpack was not recovered at the scene, police said.