Suspicious death of Jersey City man

JERSEY CITY (WABC) -- A Jersey City man was found dead in his apartment Tuesday afternoon after police were asked to check on him.

Hudson County Prosecutors have only described this as a suspicious death. But after spending a day talking with neighbors in the apartment building at 55 Corbin Avenue, they have been able to fill in more about the friend they have lost.

The sign on the door of apartment 21 tells only part of the deadly act that occurred inside, the suspicious death of an elderly tenant. And it took neighbors like Margaritta by surprise.

"It breaks our hearts. My husband used to talk to him a lot," Margaritta said.

She has known the man for years, but says she had not seen since he came back from a nursing home in July. Others also had trouble contacting him.

"One day the super came by the window and says 'I'm trying to call but the phone is not working anymore,'" Margaritta said.

Tuesday night, after residents detected a foul odor, what Jersey City police and firefighters discovered when asked to check on the man at his west side apartment was apparently not what they expected. His body was partially covered with cement margarita said.

"They said the firemen found a garbage can bag, like a black bag, but inside there was cement. Like he would bury him and he put cement on top," Margaritta said.

"We are still waiting for updates, we don't know exactly what happened," a neighbor said.

"It does worry me to see what happened to him and everything," said Miriam Melendez, the victim's friend.

While neighbors deal with the shock of this suspicious death, others like Miriam Melendez who asked that Eyewitness News not show her face, remembers the victim as a nice man.

"He was like a happy person. He'd get along with people, nice and everything," Melendez said.

"He lived here a long time?" Eyewitness News asked.

"Yes, yes, a long time, a long time," Melendez said.

The man was seen in a wheelchair, neighbors say, and that a stepson had also come and gone from the apartment.

Prosecutors have yet to offer further details other than what this sign reveals.

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