A 59-year-old man was charged on Thursday with the decades-old murder of a woman, estimated to be around 30, found dead in a Queens motel. This announcement comes years after the same individual was convicted for a similar crime in Brooklyn.
Jose Velazquez, a former resident of Astoria, now faces allegations of strangling an unidentified woman, thought to be between 25 and 35 years old, in Room 119 of the now-closed Turf Motel on 14th Street, a tragic event that took place in 1998. The prosecutor’s office disclosed the details of the case.
Authorities reported that the woman, lacking any identification, was discovered under a mattress on January 12, 1998. A scarf was found tightly wrapped around her neck, positioned in the bed’s box spring.
Later that same year, the medical examiner concluded that the cause of death was ligature strangulation.
During the autopsy, DNA evidence was gathered from her underwear and from scratches on her fingernails.
This evidence was re-examined in May 2023, leading investigators to connect the DNA to Velasquez, according to prosecutors.
Simultaneously, Velasquez was in custody in an upstate facility. He had already been convicted of second-degree murder for another case involving the strangulation of a different unidentified woman in 1999 at the now-defunct Lincoln Plaza Hotel in Park Slope.
According to law enforcement, the second victim was discovered in a bathtub by a maintenance worker on April 29 and was declared dead at the scene.
Velasquez was arrested on May 2, 1999, and subsequently convicted on April 27, 2000, following a jury trial, as per police and Brooklyn prosecutor records.
While he has already served 25 years for the crime in Brooklyn, he reportedly denied ever visiting the Queens motel during a recent interview with the NYPD’s cold case unit, according to prosecutors.
On Thursday, he was formally charged with second-degree murder in a grand jury indictment. A Supreme Court Justice ordered that he be held without bail.
If found guilty, Velasquez could be looking at a sentence ranging from 25 years to life.
Queens prosecutors emphasized, “For nearly 30 years, this female victim was never identified or given justice, but she has never been forgotten.” They further added that “Every victim matters, and we are committed to holding criminals accountable, no matter how long it takes. Thanks to the Cold Case Unit members and our NYPD partners for their dedication to this case.”
