Grandmother’s disturbing murder suspect found beaten and bound in New York City apartment.

The suspect arrested in the brutal murder of a 74-year-old grandmother found beaten and tied up in her Upper West Side apartment is a former building manager who once served 20 years in prison for disembowelling a man, prosecutors revealed in his first trial. hearing on Sunday, according to reports.

LaShawn McKee, 47, of Brooklyn, was not arrested until Saturday – three days after Maria Hernandez, 74, was found with her hands and feet bound and gagged face down in a pile of clothes inside her. apartment on W. 83rd Street near Columbus Avenue.

It was the victim’s sister, Maria Terrero, who told detectives that she had made a gruesome discovery around 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday and dialed 911. Terrero went to visit her just hours after the two of them had attended a Broadway matinee and dined together. evening, according to the NY Daily News.

Hernandez’s daughter reportedly expressed concern when she was unable to contact her mother.

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“She was a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful woman. I have no idea, I think I’m living a very bad dream right now,” Terrero told FOX 5 NY.

Prosecutors detailed the crime during McKee’s arraignment in Manhattan criminal court on Sunday.

“This is a particularly brutal murder where the victim was found beaten, bruised, beaten, with her hands and feet tied behind her back, lying face down under a pile of clothes in her bedroom,” prosecutors said, according to the Daily News. “Victim died of fatal asphyxia with concomitant neck compression.”

LaShawn Makki quickly lowers his head as he is led out of the police station after being arrested for the murder of Maria Hernandez.
(FOX 5 New York)

Hernandez “had extensive injuries, including bruises and abrasions to her face, arms, back, and lacerations to her vagina and rectum,” Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Maxine Rosenthal added, according to the New York Post. “It was clearly a premeditated crime when the defendant went down to the basement before the attack to break into the chief’s office and dismantle the security systems located there.”

Prosecutors determined McKee was a career criminal who was sentenced in 2000 to 23 years in prison on charges of first-degree assault. Rosenthal told Judge Felicia Menin that the victim had been stabbed 15 times and was left lying in the middle of a Brooklyn street with “intestines hanging from his body,” according to The Post.

McKee was released in 2019 after serving nearly 20 years in prison. McKee returned to prison in October 2021, but was released a month later, according to government records. He was arrested in August for grand theft, burglary and petty theft in Brooklyn, a crime to which he pleaded guilty on December 21, and is expected to return to court next month for sentencing.

Maria Hernandez, a 74-year-old Dominican immigrant, was found beaten, bound and gagged in her Upper West Side apartment.
(The Hernandez Family/FOX 5 NY)

After serving parole for assault in 1999, McKee took a job at the Hernandez Building. FOX 5 NY reported that investigators said he was working on the day of the gruesome murder.

CBS News reports that investigators initially said the apartment showed no signs of forced entry.

McKee and his lawyer argue that he is not responsible for the brutal murder of Hernandez.

“Look for DNA results at the crime scene!” he shouted to reporters near the 20th precinct on Saturday, the Post reported. “Ask them about it!”

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McKee’s lawyer Jessica Horani reportedly told the court on Sunday that there was no video footage showing her client on the third floor of a building near the crime scene. Authorities say the building’s surveillance systems were sabotaged before the assassination.

“He stands before you categorically denying the allegations against him,” Horani added, according to the Daily News. “I don’t believe people have substantial evidence in this case.”

McKee was recently charged with murder, attempted murder and two counts of burglary. After the hearing, he was ordered to be held without bail.