What to Know
- A woman was found brutally beaten and raped in an outdoor stairwell in Queens Monday morning, law enforcement sources say
- Cops have broadened their canvas in search of surveillance video; they're also looking into registered sex offenders in the area
- Authorities have said they do not have a description of a potential suspect, and no arrests have been made
Cops have released a photo of the suspect wanted in the brutal beating and rape of a 52-year-old woman in which she was left unconscious in a pool of blood at the bottom of an outdoor stairwell in Queens, according to law enforcement sources.
Police late Tuesday night released images of the man they're looking to speak to in the sex attack near 72nd Road and Kissena Boulevard in Kew Gardens Hills Monday morning. Anyone with information is urged to call police.
The woman's condition has marginally improved since she was taken to a hospital after she was found on the stairs, the sources say. But she is still in bad shape.
She had been unconscious in the hospital, intubated to help with her breathing, through the day Monday and also had injuries to her neck and bruises to the head, according to law enforcement sources.
The woman's pants were removed in the attack, and detectives were also seen removing a condom wrapper from the scene.
Neighbor Robert Soto said he saw the woman's children and husband Tuesday in tears.
"She came to me and asked me, 'Do you know what happened to my mom?'" said Soto. "'Yeah, I know what happened, I'm sorry for that'... She said her mother is in critical condition. She cried, and the husband cried, too."
Local
"I can't understand it," said another neighbor, Troy Jordan. "There are schools, there's people walking their dogs, there's all kinds of people here. How could something like this happen? Nobody heard a scream, nobody heard a shout. Nobody heard nothing."
The NYPD has said they don't have any description of a suspect in the case -- and sources tell News 4 they're broadening their search area in hopes they may find some surveillance footage that could give them a viable lead.
They're also looking into registered sex offenders in the area.
"I am dumbfounded by it, I really am," said neighbor Anthony Giannotta.
"It's kind of shocking in this neighborhood. This doesn't happen," said Julio Suarez.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact authorities.
