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Two Men Charged With Murder in Drowning in Brewster
Chief Edward J. Welch of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection ("DEP") Police, Putnam County District Attorney Kevin Wright, and Putnam County Sheriff Donald B. Smith report that the death of a man found in a river in Brewster on November 29, 2006 has been ruled a murder. Authorities have arrested two men in the killing and have accused them of drowning the victim in the east branch of the Croton River.
The defendants, who have identified themselves as Manuel Velasquez Perez, aged 24, and Agustin Perez, aged 45, are charged with Murder in the Second Degree. The two men, who share surnames but are not related, are being held in the Putnam County Correctional Facility.
Officials have tentatively identified the victim as Esmaraldo Salazar. Authorities believe that the defendants and victim are citizens of Guatemala and that all three men entered the United States Illegally. The Sheriff's Department has notified the United States Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement about the defendant's suspected illegal status.
Investigators say that, on an afternoon approximately two weeks ago, the defendants and the victim were together along the wooded bank of the Croton River, just off Marvin Avenue in Brewster. The river and surrounding environs are within the New York City Watershed, on city-owned property. The three men were reportedly consuming alcohol and an argument erupted between them. The defendants allegedly attacked the victim and drowned him in the river. The victim's body was apparently swept down river a distance of some 200 yards.
On Wednesday, November 29th, a caller from Brewster telephoned the Sheriff's Department and reported that there was a body in the river. Sheriff's deputies and investigators, DEP Police officers and detectives, and other emergency responders went to the scene and found the partially submerged remains of the victim. The Putnam County Coroner's Office performed an autopsy on the same day and, although a final report has not been completed, drowning was preliminarily listed as the apparent cause of death.
Immediately after the recovery of the victim's body , DEP detectives and Sheriff's investigators began canvassing the Village of Brewster for potential witnesses and persons having information about the death. As the investigation progressed, suspicions of foul play arose. Officials developed leads and gathered forensic evidence from along the river bank and elsewhere.
Officials questioned the suspects at the Sheriffs Department headquarters in Carmel. After concluding those interviews, and after consulting with the District Attorney's Office, authorities arrested the defendants and charged them with Murder in the Second Degree. That crime is a class A-I felony, which is punishable by up to life imprisonment.
The defendants were arraigned before Brewster Village Court Justice Richard L. O'Rourke and ordered held without bail in the county jail pending their return to Village Court on December 11th.
The investigation is ongoing and authorities are asking persons who knew the victim or may have information about the case to call the DEP Police at 888-426-7433 or the Sheriff's Department at 845-225-4300
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