Clock Tower Murder: Dead Man Had Been Suffocated With Pillow, Police Say

DUMBO, BROOKLYN — A man found dead with a pillow across his face in DUMBO’s iconic Clock Tower building was murdered, according to police

The body of Neil Smith, 57, was found by a houseguest who discovered him lying unconscious in his bed in his fourth-floor apartment at 1 Main St. on June 19, police reported at the time.

Emergency responders pronounced Smith dead at the scene and on Thursday Medical Examiners deemed his death to be a homicide, according to police.

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Smith had been suffocated by the pillow found on top of his face and had drugs in his system, police said.

A suspect has not yet been identified and the investigation remains ongoing, according to police.

The Clock Tower made news in May when its penthouse apartment was bought by a Colombian art dealer for $15 million, which broke the record for the borough’s most expensive condominium, according to a Real Deal report.

The Clock Tower is known for celebrity residents – Anne Hathaway once lived there and socialite Olivia Palermo and her husband, Johannes Huebl, still do, according to Gothamist.

Photo courtesy of Beyond My Ken/Wikimedia Commons