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

EAST VILLAGE, NY — Police have named a suspect in the murder of Brooke Garcia, 27, who was found dead with a scarf wrapped around her neck in an Alphabet City public housing unit Wednesday afternoon, multiple news outlets report.

Police said Garcia, who has a four-year-old daughter, was found Wednesday with a scarf wrapped tightly around her neck in an apartment belonging to her aunt at the Lillian Wald Houses on Avenue D.

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

Video surveillance allegedly shows ex-con Henry Pacheco, 36, entering the building with Garcia, and later leaving alone. Phone records also show Pacheco used Garcia's cell phone Tuesday night, according to NY Daily News.

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

See Related: Woman Found Dead in Alphabet City Had Scarf Wrapped Tightly Around Her Neck, Police Say

Pix 11 reports Pacheco was picked up Thursday night for a separate incident of punching his girlfriend in the face last week. Pacheco's girlfriend was reportedly a friend of Garcia.

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.

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Editor's Note: This article has been updated to include additional details as the homicide investigation has progressed.

Additional reporting by Sarah Beller/Patch. Photo via Facebook