25 To Life For Killing Mount Vernon Man In Yonkers, Burning Body

MOUNT VERNON, NY — A Mount Vernon man's killer learned his fate after being convicted in a bizarre case of jealousy.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced Wednesday that the Bedford-Stuyvesant man has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the killing of Jonathan Blake and attempting to conceal his crime by setting fire to the body in the basement of a Brooklyn apartment building.

The two men were romantic rivals and the killer stalked his victim for months before the murder.

"The depravity of the defendant’s actions cannot be overstated, and the lengthy prison term to which he has been sentenced holds him accountable for killing an innocent man in cold blood and desecrating his remains," Gonzalez said in a statement announcing the sentence. "While nothing can return Jonathan Blake to his loved ones, I hope this sentence provides them with some measure of solace. Brooklyn is safer with this defendant behind bars."

Derek Whitaker of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn was sentenced on Wednesday by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun to 25 years to life in prison. The 58-year-old was convicted by a jury on June 16, of second-degree murder, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, fourth-degree arson, tampering with physical evidence, and concealment of a human corpse.

The DA said that in the early morning hours of March 13, 2020, on North Broadway in Yonkers, Whitaker ambushed his 55-year-old victim, shooting him in the head and killing him. The defendant later transported the victim’s body to the basement of a building on Jefferson Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant where he worked as a superintendent and where his mother resided.

On March 16, 2020, according to the evidence, Whitaker attempted to cover up the killing by setting fire to the victim’s corpse using gasoline. A resident of the building smelled smoke and ventured into the basement where they saw Whitaker standing over a metal barrel with the victim’s two legs sticking out.

The resident reported the incident to the building’s manager who called 911. Members of the New York City Fire Department and the New York City Police Department arrived at the address and Whitaker was arrested.

Investigators later learned the two men were romantic rivals and that Whitaker had been stalking the victim for four to six months.

In the time between killing Blake and setting fire to his corpse, Whitaker attended a service at a church in Westchester County where the victim and his family worshipped. Whitaker sat in Blake's empty seat and embraced his victim’s brother.