Elderly Woman's Murder Is 3rd In 5 Years At BK Building: Report

BROOKLYN, NY — A 78-year-old grandmother who was found strangled in a hallway last week is the third unsolved death at a Brooklyn public housing complex for the elderly, according to police and the New York Daily News.

Police found Juanita Caballero with a cord wrapped around her neck in the hallway of her apartment at the Woodson Houses on Powell Street on Friday afternoon, according to police. Her death was ruled a homicide three days later.

Caballero's death comes less than two years after a neighbor at the housing complex was found fatally beaten and five years after another elderly woman was found stabbed to death in the building, according to the News.

The homicides, all still unsolved, have left the 450 residents at the New York City Housing Authority building scared for their lives.

“They won’t come out,” Eddie Moreno, whose mother lives on the same floor as two of the murder victims, told the News. “They’re all terrified to open the doors.”

A police source told the News that a known drug user is being investigated for the first two homicides, though it's still too early to tell if Caballero's death is related.

The killings prompted the addition of security cameras to the building, but families say the city has not done enough to protect the residents. One of the victim's family has already filed a lawsuit against the city. Caballero's family said they have similar plans for legal action.

Read the full Daily News story here.