On Friday, an autistic man was stabbed to death in a tragic misunderstanding after moving a murder suspect's backpack. His family said this was a habit related to his condition.
Tyrone Padilla, 61, was found bleeding to death in the stairwell of his Bronx home after walking his dog around 1:30 a.m., police said. .
Police said Padilla was seen on video leaving his apartment on Creston Avenue near East Fordham Road at 1:10 a.m. and returning home unharmed 10 minutes later.
Padilla then left the apartment a second time at 1:21 a.m., but this time he did not return.
Police said the 1:24 a.m. video shows Padilla being chased by a man heading north on Creston Street.
Another video showed the same man police identified as the suspect in Padilla's murder carrying a backpack.
But police said the suspect was no longer in his backpack when he was seen on camera chasing Padilla.
Investigators suspect Padilla, who said his family members suffered from autism and obsessive-compulsive disorder, may have picked up the suspect's backpack.
“He may have accidentally picked up this person's backpack, which caused the collision,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenney told reporters Tuesday.
Kenney said this action would be consistent with Padilla's pattern of behavior.
“From conversations with people in the building and with relatives, we learned that as part of the victim's autism, he had a habit of picking up things on the ground,” Kenny said.
“At one point, he was seen on video carrying a chair. He is only known for picking up trash outside of buildings.”
Police said Padilla was chased into the lobby of his building by 1:25 a.m. on the day of his death.
Padilla was attacked in the lobby and fatally stabbed in the back and neck.
The attack was not caught on camera.
Shortly after the stabbing, first responders received several calls reporting a man bleeding, police said.
Padilla was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he died just before 2 a.m.
Investigators recovered a dagger at the scene, but believe it belonged to Padilla and not the murder weapon. The backpack was not recovered at the scene.
Kenney said investigators used facial recognition technology to capture video images of the suspect, but police said they did not yield any leads.
Investigation is ongoing.
