Investigators are reviewing surveillance video from a camera in the lobby of the Harlem building where a 48-year-old man was found dead, tied up with a bag over his head, Monday morning, a law enforcement official told NBC 4 New York.
Detectives believe the victim, identified as Charles Romo, may have been beaten to death, the official said.
Romo had more than a dozen wounds to his head and marks on his arms. He was found on his knees on the bedroom floor with his hands tied behind his back, his legs tied with a belt and tape around his neck.
Law enforcement sources said surveillance video from the morning Romo was killed shows two men leaving the building with a plastic bag. They're seen earlier entering the building without the bag.
Authorities said a woman who regularly came to the Hamilton Place apartment to clean discovered Romo's body shortly before 10:30 a.m. She told investigators Romo often had different men inside his apartment, and is working with authorities to try and identify the men seen in the surveillance video.
Crime scene detectives recovered a broken lamp and a fork in the apartment. Both items are being tested for DNA and fingerprints.
Law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation said Romo's mother is flying to New York City from Dallas Tuesday to formally identify the body. The family told detectives Romo had been scheduled to move back to his native Texas on Sunday.
Romo was a dog owner. Authorities said his Italian greyhound was placed with the ASPCA.
The investigation is ongoing.
