2 Weeks After Deadly East Village Scarf Strangling, Murderer Still Loose

EAST VILLAGE, NY — It's been two weeks since the murder of Brooke Garcia, 27, the mother found dead with a scarf wrapped around her neck in an Alphabet City public housing unit Jan. 4. Police are still investigating the case as of Jan. 19.

"The investigation is ongoing. There are no arrests," police told Patch.

The cause of Garcia's death was "ligature strangulation," and her death was ruled a homicide, an official from the NYC Medical Examiner's Office told Patch on Jan. 6.

Pix 11 and The Daily News reported police named a suspect in the case: ex-con Henry Pacheco, 36. Pacheco was allegedly shown entering the Lillian Wald Houses on Avenue D with Garcia, and later leaving alone.

See Related: East Village Murder: 27-Year-Old Woman Strangled To Death, Officials Say (UPDATES)

Pacheco has 26 arrests under his belt, mainly for petty larceny. According to the Daily News, Pacheco was once considered a person of interest in the murder of a transgender woman in 2012. The woman, Lorena Escalera, was strangled to death in her Bushwick apartment.

Police told Patch that Pacheco was interviewed in connection to the crime, but wouldn't discuss in further detail.

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