By Carol Tannenhauser
An arrest was made on Saturday in the death of Maria Hernandez, the 74-year-old woman who was found murdered in her W. 83rd Street apartment on Wednesday, January 18, with her hands and feet tied.
Lashawn Mackey, 47, from Brooklyn, was picked up and charged with murder, attempted murder, and two counts of burglary, according to the latest police report. “The motive was robbery,” a police spokesperson told the Rag.
Ms. Hernandez was found by her sister, lying face down in her bedroom, the New York Post reported. “The residence had been ransacked. The Medical Examiner determined [she] died of asphyxia.”
Earlier, police said there were no signs of trauma other than Ms. Hernandez’s bound hands and feet, but the Post reported “she was found with fractures and bruising on her body.”
Scant details are available about Mackey’s arrest, other than “a search warrant was executed at his residence,” the spokesperson added. “I don’t know how, but they got him. That was a quick turnaround!”
Update: 1/22, 9:18 a.m.: Another call to DCPI (the NYPD press office) yielded further information about Lashawn Mackey. “Mackey was arrested in 1999 for attempted murder and was off the grid [possibly in prison] until around 2021,” a police spokesperson said. “He was arrested again in August, 2022, for burglary. That was around the same time that he worked for a couple of months at Ms. Hernandez’s building last summer, as part of a post-incarceration work-release program. So, he had previous knowledge of the building.”
Nothing will bring this poor woman back, but I’m very happy that this animal is off the streets.
Thank you, WSR, for the follow up.
(Pelosi) said that she believed the Democrats could have held onto the House in November if top New York pols had realized that the key issue in that state was crime.
“That is an issue that had to be dealt with early on, not 10 days before the election,” Pelosi said, adding about Kathy Hochul, “The governor didn’t realize soon enough where the trouble was.”
Totally agree. But in our local race for the state legislature, Danzilo vs. Hoylman, a huge majority of our neighbors voted for Hoylman, who completely denied that crime was an issue, rather than Danzilo, a Democrat who wanted to do something about it (but not in a Trump-esque way). We yell and scream about it but then when given a chance to do something about it, we do nothing. I just don’t get it.
Those of us who keep complaining are not asking for something crazy. Despite what others might stay, we are still Democrats who believe in due process and moderation. But denying it is a problem and prioritizing the rights of recidivist, convicted criminals over law-abiding criminals just doesn’t work, and it actually energizes the opposition.
I never would have known about Danzilo except for comments here on WSR. Her campaign got VERY little publicity. I think the “we” in your comment doesn’t have a single reference; some of us yell and scream, some still think that the system is too reliant on incarceration models, and I am guessing that many don’t even vote – probably more than 50% of the potential electorate.
I didn’t know about her until Election Day yet I still managed to vote for her. We can blame media all we want but at the end of the day all the names are on the polls, all the candidates have websites explaining their issues. Media could be better but we do have the tools to think for ourselves.
I suppose it’s rare that ex-convicts who are in post-incarceration work-release programs use info from said programs to help them commit further crimes. I hope this guy is put away for life. And what happened to him after he was arrested for burglary in Aug 2022? Was he right back on the street?
Burglary is a non violent felony. That means no bail even if the arrested has a previous conviction. Catch and Release.
Exactly, why was he back on the street.
He was back on the street because or NY’ soft-on-crime policies.
That family should sue the heck out of whoever thought it was a good idea to send that guy to their family members building. And probably without warning I would bet. I bet nobody there was warned about his background.
And now the city council wishes to conceal criminal backgrounds from landlords and, by extension, other tenants.
Everything does not have the basis to be remedied by a lawsuit..
It was abundantly clear after his two prior convictions that this guy would never be anything to society but a threat and a burden.
First of all I would like to say you need to get your facts right okay even though this was a horrible crime and I am so sorry for the family the guy who allegedly did this didn’t get arrested for burglary in Aug 2022 . He was arrested because someone lied and made false allegations about this man to the police. As an result the case got thrown out because it was found out that the person lied so there was no conviction no arrest but he did do 9 months for that,so get your facts right and that’s why he was let out so if you going to talk about it know what you’re talking about. Sometimes everything is not what it seems and he could be innocent so don’t be so quick to condemn because he was arrested for it.
I have no legal background, but if he presumably got out of prison in 2021 for attempted murder, and was arrested for burglary in August 2022, I would imagine that somehow he violated his parol. I would like the full name of the judge who let him walk the streets following his August 2022 arrest. That judge’s name must be splattered across every NY newspaper as this poor woman’s blood is on his hands. I won’t bother offering my “thoughts and prayers” to her family as they won’t bring her back, nor take away the pain and suffering she endured during her final moments.
Did anyone ask Ms. Hernandez if she wanted to be part of a failed social justice experiment that would put violent men in her home? Did she consent to be part of this or did someone else decide that Mackey’s rights outweighed her right to be safe in her own building.
Yet another argument for keeping criminals in jail
The poor victim was obviously no physical threat to prevent the burglary so he most likely murdered her because she could identify him. I wonder how he was apprehended so quickly.
Does anyone have info about funeral arrangements? Through WSR I just found out of Ms. Hernandez’s passing, and I don’t have any contact info to ask her relatives.
Thats the third murder from individual associated with that building
What proof do you have? It is just hearsay, not fact.
What are the other two?
That poor women.
I am so sorry for her and her loved ones.
She must have been so afraid at the end.
She deserved better than dangerous criminals working near her home and gaining insight into how to rob, hurt, and kill her.
Work programs that involve any public contact are for non violent offenders only.
“Mercy” like this for violent murderers is cruelty to women and all neighbors who want to live and die in peace.
Who let him put?
That person bears some responsibility for this woman’s tragic end.
Another reason why this push to eliminate background checks both for employment and housing is so scary. Ex felons, depending upon their crime, should first prove that they have been rehabilitated before being given an opportunity to harm others. Clearly this leopard didn’t change his spots by serving time for a crime. Very sad for our neighbor and her family.
In order to do that our prisons would have to rehabilitate people to begin with
Maybe start small. Let them show up and hold down a job before graduating them to building staff where they have access to people’s apartment? And I do think prisoners should be taught skills in prison that will assist their ability to contribute positively upon their release. A reward system whereby certain positive behaviors get them front of the line treatment for rewards. Where they are incentivized to make choices that contribute positively to the community.
Thanks to the NYPD for the quick apprehension of Mackey, who should never have been released from prison the first time. And employing violent former convicts in residential settings is inappropriate and unacceptable on so many levels. Whoever hired him should be held accountable along with those in the criminal justice system who failed Ms. Hernandez and her family.
Great! Y’know, despite all the virtue signaling vitriol directed at the cops over the last few years, the folks in blue seem to generally do a great job!
I think it’s worth remembering that a man has been arrested, not convicted. While it is easy to see why NYPD identified him as a suspect (low-hanging fruit), I haven’t read anything yet that indicates that NYPD has evidence that he actually committed the crime.
Good point. Let’s save our wrath until/unless he’s found guilty,
Then, I hope they consider the death penalty (if that’s still allowed to be discussed).
That filthy scum will never harm anyone else outside prison. That poor elderly woman was murdered by that beast who was allowed to work in that building, he is one of many predators let out by the justice system so that they can victimize people over and over. Thank God the NYPD has The Greatest Detectives in the World. Lets hope the judge has a mother, a daughter, or a sister. maybe then he will he remanded to jail. I hope the Westside Rag will help spread the word so the community can have a candle vigil for her, it is the least that society can do for her.
I appreciate how passionate you are about the poor woman’s demise. But what makes the guy a filthy scum he was arrested not found guilty he wasn’t convicted or anything they haven’t said anything about proof that he did do it you already condemning The Man without Even hearing what really happened if there is anything to say that he did do it so before you convict somebody because of your own feelings or whatever you should find out if he really did it or not. You know nothing of this man Mr Mackey he could have a wife he could have children he probably has sisters brothers and mother or grandmother how you think his family is feeling or going through this dramatic messed up situation suppose he’s innocent then what you still going to say he’s filthy scum or he’s an animal or something everyone is innocent until found guilty right or is it we’re guilty till we found innocent you tell me.
Sadly he will reach an age where prisoner advocates like Brad Hoylman will push for his Elder Prisoner Release so he can age in place with dignity. And he will get Section 8 housing on the UWS.
We need to re-think the post-incarceration work-release program. No I’m not saying that we should scrap it but maybe restrict who would be eligible for the program? Maybe not allow those convicted of violence to enroll?
Have you ever heard of people changing the way they were like reform people can change and sometimes things aren’t so black and white so to be so judgmental before you know what really happened or know all the facts to their issue you shouldn’t judge no one you wouldn’t want nobody to judge you would you?
As the sayings go: Past behavior (often) predicts the future. He told us who he was, so we should believe him.
Based on evidence, I’d let God forgive him, but we should lock him up and throw away the key—if he killed her.
Maybe what needs to be revisited is the kind of work they do? Ofherwise the released felon gets free housing in Manhattan no less and has another reason to just collect welfare? Lots of jobs exist that don’t put you inside a person’s home.
Here we are again, like the prior conditions of the 80s, which led eventually to the election for Rudolph Giuliani, who’s seemingly not well now, but at the time he was the prosecutor that New York needed. And someone like him will have to appear in the next election to fix everything happening now and in the prior administration, basically everything since Bloomberg. New York City is not San Francisco, we know when it’s time to clean up, it’s usually too late, but the correction needs to happen.
Giuliani’s only credit should be that he hired Bill Bratton. Then he got jealous of Bratton’s press (bad indicator of what was to come), fired Bratton, took all the credit for crime reduction, and after 9/11 offered “zeros for heroes” in contract negotiations with police. It’s not a stretch to see where he wound up. Oh, also along the way, started cheating on his wife (he has since dumped another one). It was Bratton, not Giuliani, who did anything about crime. PLUS, it’s not the Mayor here who is the issue. It’s the State legislators who passed the bail reform laws and other anti-police legislation. NOTHING can be fixed until that is fixed. So while people rag on Mayors, the current Mayor’s hands are tied, as he has said many times. Listening is the key here.
People I know voted for Adams because they believed he’d be effective at reducing crime. I don’t know whether he is.
I think he is a lot better than the alternatives we had – Maya Wiley would probably be baking cookies for the attacker. And Adams has very limited control over this. It is largely up to the DA and state legislature, and the city council also ties his hands somewhat. I do think he could use his bully pulpit as mayor to make others prioritize this more.
? Curtis Sliwa ran for mayor as a Republican in the same election.
And our UWS elected officials have been standing at city hall fighting background checks. Let that sink in.
Gale Brewer is one of the proud sponsors of eliminating background checks!
When I mentioned earlier that banning background checks is insane, I got yelled at by fellow commentators who were saying that background checks put our black and brown neighbors at disadvantage. Background check is for crime, not skin color, but oh, virtue signalling is very dominant on UWS.
That poor, poor woman and her family get all my sympathy and compassion. I have ZERO for the subhuman garbage who robbed her of her life.
No more chances.Game over.