A man has been arrested for murder and
arson in connection to the death of a Brooklyn resident, who perished in an elevator after being doused with a flammable liquid and then set on fire with a Molotov cocktail, as reported by the Associated Press for Yahoo News.
The man, J.I., 47, later walked into a police station and implicated himself in the death of D.G., 73. New York Police Department spokesman, Paul Browne, said that J.I. admitted to starting the fire and knowing the victim. Browne would not say if a motive had been determined.
On Saturday, December 17, after D.G. had entered the elevator in her Brooklyn apartment building and rode to the fifth floor, the suspect – lying in wait at the fifth floor landing for the elevator doors to open – covered her with a fire accelerant and set her on fire with the aid of a Molotov cocktail.
Browne said, "It was apparent he knew she was on the elevator."
The incident was captured on the elevator's security surveillance camera. It occurred just after 4 p.m. and approximately lasted a minute. Still images of the suspect depicted a form in a black jacket, gloves, white dust mask and holding a canister with a nozzle.
The suspect is shown aiming and shooting liquid directly onto D.G.
Just before the attack, J.H., a fifth-floor resident and neighbor of D.G.'s, said that though he and his girlfriend had used the same elevator just prior to the incident, they didn't see anyone. But, they did detect the odor of what they thought was paint.
J.H. is also the manager of news development for The Associated Press.
Authorities told J.H. they believed that J.I. had hidden on another floor when the couple had exited the building.
J. H. noticed that J.I. looked like a man that had resided with D.G. toward the end of 2010, for about six months, ending with the beginning of 2011. He said, "It seemed like during the time he was here, he was kind of helping her out in her apartment."
Months afterward he noticed that the man was hanging around their block. J.H. said, "When we started to see him on the street, he looked a lot more disheveled."
Both J.H. and his girlfriend saw the images of the suspect. Their response: "We were like, 'Oh, my God!'"
The video showed the elevator doors open and the suspect stepping inside and spraying D.G. The victim then turned about 180 degrees and crouched – seemingly in an attempt to protect herself – while the suspect continued to spray her until she retreated to the furthest part of the elevator.
Browne said that at this time the suspect lit a rag in the bottle, and then waited a few seconds to make sure the flames ignited well enough to start a fire. As he departed, he tossed the explosive device into the elevator with the victim.
Neighbors reported a fire and residents were evacuated before anyone knew that a woman had perished in the elevator.
Contact a criminal defense attorney to best represent you if you have been charged with a crime. Whether or not you have implicated yourself, you still require a lawyer.
