The 26-year-old man found dead with multiple stab wounds after a seventh-floor penthouse exploded in Queens in what cops believe was an intentional act had been suffering from depression and out of work the last two months, a senior police official tells News 4 the preliminary investigation shows.
The man, identified as Anesti Bulgaresti, was discovered dead after authorities doused the flames pouring from the top of the building on 41st Avenue in Woodside just before 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. No other injuries were reported.
According to the senior police official, Bulgaresti had suffered from vertigo and other medical ailments. He lived with his brother, who was not in the penthouse at the time of the explosion, the official said. A knife was recovered under Bulgaresti's body, the senior official added. The case is still under investigation and the medical examiner has yet to rule on a cause or manner of death for Bulgaresti.
The explosion and resulting fire ultimately displaced about 40 people who live in the building. One resident said the vibration from the blast shook her fifth-floor apartment, so she ran outside with just her phone and her wallet. That's when she realized the building was on fire, and the back wall had collapsed.
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The American Cross said it was assisting those who were displaced by the fire.
