Police say an accidental bump between strangers on a sidewalk cost a 63-year-old man his life. 4’s Ida Siegal reports.
Police say an accidental bump between strangers on a Manhattan sidewalk cost a 63-year-old man his life back in April.
Uncovered surveillance video from the area now proves what was believed to be an accidental death, was actually murder, according to law enforcement.
Officers found 63-year-old Charles Cunningham lying on the sidewalk near death at the corner of 5th Avenue and East 105th Street in East Harlem. He had fallen and hit his head, and investigators thought his death was an accident.
But detectives recently uncovered video of the encounter that suggests otherwise. They say the footage shows a man sucker punch Cunningham in the head -- a move that ultimately killed him.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox.> Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
Neighbors at Cunningham's apartment building located just a few blocks away were shocked to learn the cause of his death. Many remember Cunningham and his brothers as good people.
"Wow, they were quiet brothers. They never bothered nobody, but like I said, that stayed to they self," Gwinette Thomas said.
Police say the video shows Cunningham bump into someone as he was walking down 5th Avenue around 11:30 p.m., then the other man immediately turns around and takes two swings. Cunningham is seen on video falling to the ground and slamming his head against the pavement.
News
Cunningham laid motionless on the ground for about 10 minutes before first responders arrived. He later died. The medical examiner determined that he suffered fractures to the back of the skull as well as internal brain bleeding.
The NYPD eventually caught the man allegedly behind the fatal punch, 49-year-old Ariel Nunez, whose facing murder, reckless endangerment and assault charges. He was arraigned Friday morning, and granted supervise release.
According to police, Nunez is from Middletown, New York, and it is not yet clear what he was doing in Manhattan the night of April 21.
