Neighbors Say Elderly Couple Let a Mysterious Man Inside. Then They Were Found Dead in Burning Home, with One Tied Up
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NEED TO KNOW
- An elderly New York City couple was found dead inside their burning home on Monday, Sept. 8
- The 77-year-old man and 78-year-old woman were reportedly set on fire inside the house, though authorities have yet to release an official cause of death
- The NYPD now says it’s looking for an unidentified man caught on surveillance camera outside the couple’s home
Police in New York City are searching for a man they say killed an elderly couple inside their home before lighting the building on fire Monday afternoon.
A spokesperson for the NYPD told PEOPLE that “a 77-year-old male and a 78-year-old female” were found dead on Sept. 8 by responding firefighters, who fought the blaze inside the two-story house in Queens.
The NYPD spokesperson said investigators believe “an unidentified male entered the location and set the residence on fire.”
“FDNY responded to the location and extinguished the fire,” the spokesperson said, adding that EMS also responded and “pronounced both individuals deceased at the scene.”
Investigators said the suspect they are looking for is “a male, with a dark complexion, approximately 30 to 40 years of age, medium build, and was last seen wearing a black hat, a black jacket, blue jeans, and black sneakers,” per the NYPD spokesperson.
The NYPD provided media outlets with a video of the alleged suspect, showing him walking along the sidewalk in broad daylight and carrying a bag.
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ABC News reported that neighbors told police that an unknown man had been knocking on doors Monday asking to be let inside so he could charge his cellphone.
The outlet reported that surveillance video from the area showed the man knocking on the couple’s backdoor around 10:15 a.m. local time on Monday morning before being let inside. Another piece of surveillance video shows the man exiting the home shortly after 3 p.m. local time, according to ABC.
The outlet reported that worried neighbors called the couple’s son, who is a paramedic with the New York City Fire Department. The couple’s son reportedly rushed to his parents’ home and was the one who first discovered them dead inside.
Local WABC reported that both victims were allegedly set on fire and that one of the individuals was found tied to a pole in the basement, though officials have yet to determine an exact cause of death. Neither the victims or the alleged suspect have been identified publicly by police.