Donald Wallace: Ex-con, 75, who served 20 years in prison for 1972 murder found beaten to death in Brooklyn apartment
CONEY ISLAND, BROOKLYN: A 75-year-old man who served 20 years in prison for a 1972 murder was found beaten to death in his Coney Island, Brooklyn, apartment. A foul smell emerging from Donald Wallace's apartment on West 23rd Street near Neptune Avenue prompted a 911 call to police, who found his "rotting" body at about 5.15 pm Thursday, February 16.
Investigators were initially unwilling to verify what killed Wallace but as per the police, the city medical examiner found that the 75-year-old died from a strike to the head, reports Daily News. There haven't been any arrests in connection with his death, which police suspect was a homicide. As per sources, police believe that Wallace was murdered by a person he knew.
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Who was Donald Wallace?
State records reveal that Donald Wallace spent 20 years in state prison for a murder committed in 1972. At the time, he was also accused of robbery, criminal possession of a weapon, and grand larceny. Records show that in 1996, after being freed from prison, he was sent back to jail for a two- to a four-year term on drug-related charges. Wallace was confirmed dead by the EMS on the spot. He seemed to have suffered blunt-force head trauma, according to officials, reports New York Post.
Donald Wallace was robbed and stabbed in 2016
Wallace was reportedly confronted in December 2016 by two men to whom he owed money. He was placed in their SUV after which they robbed him and stabbed him in the head and back before he managed to flee. Wallace previously stated he was kidnapped by two strangers as he exited the Pay-O-Matic check-cashing location on Mermaid Avenue close to his home, but police say he eventually admitted knowing his assailants.
They took Wallace to the Pay-O-Matic so he could access the ATM and get cash to reimburse them. According to the police, they pushed him back into the SUV when his card didn't work at the machine. Wallace resisted and was robbed and stabbed as they were on their way to try his card at a different machine. He was able to escape their SUV at Avenue W and Nostrand Ave in Sheepshead Bay, reports Daily News.
'The body was rotting'
Reports say Wallice's 66-year-old neighbor, Millie Correa, who had become friendly with Wallace's wife, Dot, claimed to have noticed the odor coming from the flat. "That’s what brought the cops to the apartment and when they open the door, he was dead," she stated. "The body was already in decomposition so it was rotting. It was stinking." Police reported that there were no signs of a break-in or theft from the residence.
Friends claimed on Monday, February 20, that it was difficult to comprehend what had occurred. "Shouldn't have died that way, because he was a very nice person, you could ask him for anything and he would give it to you, you know," stated friend Milagros Correa, reports ABC.