There’s new information in a Queens murder mystery, after a realtor was found hog-tied and dumped along the Clearview Expressway on Tuesday. His killer was still on the loose Friday evening. NBC New York’s Marc Santia reports.
The man whose body was found hog-tied and dumped in the grass off a Queens highway has been identified as a real estate agent, as investigators turn their focus to why he was killed and who may have done it.
The discovery was made just feet away from the Clearview Expressway and Union Turnpike in Bayside around 9 a.m. Tuesday. The body of Emanuel Moncuer was found in a grassy area off the busy roadway, where it intersects with Cunningham Park.
Moncuer was wearing a black leather jacket and blue jeans, with his hands tied behind his back, according to law enforcement sources. The body was badly decomposed and had trauma to the face, according to a law enforcement source.
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WATCH HERE"The way they discovered him. That’s completely insane," said friend Valery Pierre. "He was a good friend of mine. More than a friend. It was like big brother."
Moncuer had glasses, lip balm and a little over a dollar on him when his body was found. Police said someone beat him up beyond recognition, with his body then doused in bleach.
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SIGN UP Police used fingerprints to identify Moncuer.
"He was just a great guy. Nice. Always nice. I can’t believe anybody would do that to him," said neighbor Jasmine Wagner. "All the years I’ve been living here very nice. Very quiet. Workaholic. Always working."
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Moncuer was a real estate agent and found an apartment for Wagner and her family. Those who knew him said he loved the holidays, and spent this past New Year's with Pierre. She said she knew something was wrong when her friend went missing from his Glendale neighborhood at the beginning of the year.
"Three days, four days, five days. I said no, that’s so unusual," Pierre said of what she thought when she didn't hear from Moncuer for days. She then called police.
As friends remember the neighbor who always wore a smile, they are also concerned about a killer being on the loose.
"Very important that they find whoever did this. So whoever did this is still loose out there? Oh lord. Oh no. They have to find them," said Wagner.
A canvass for video evidence is ongoing, including from nearby traffic cameras.
The medical examiner will conduct an autopsy to determine cause of death.
An investigation is ongoing.
