BY JASON COHEN
Tragedy struck the quiet
community of Pelham Gardens
Tuesday when a home invasion
resulted in the death of
a 91-year-old man.
According to the NYPD, on
Aug. 3, at 12:30 p.m., police received
a 911 call of a robbery
at 2400 Wickham Ave. Upon
arrival, they discovered Nicholo
Kappa tied up by extension
cords with head and face
trauma. Rappa was unconscious
and pronounced dead at
the scene.
Barry Maynard, who lives
across the street at 2405 Wickham
Ave., was one of the fi rst
to fi nd Rappa in his home.
Maynard arrived home and
immediately saw Rappa’s
downstairs tenant signaling
him to come over. The tenant
proceeded to tell Maynard that
Rappa had been robbed.
“I’m looking like where is
Nick?” Maynard said.
The tenant believed Rappa
was in the garage, so he and
Maynard went through the
home in order to access the garage.
Immediately, Maynard
went into shock.
“I saw him,” he said. “He
had his hands and legs tied
with towels over his face.”
They rolled him over and
began to call his name to no
response; he was dead. According
to Maynard, it looked like
the damage to Rappa came
from the towels.
“The way he was tied, in my
mind, it looked like somebody
knew how to tie,” he said.
Community Board 11 member
John Johnson lived next
door to Rappa for years and
his daughter and in-laws still
reside there today. Johnson
could not believe the news.
Johnson said Rappa was
The Pelham Gardens home where 91-year-old Nicholo Rappa was murdered on Aug. 3, 2021.
Photo Jason Cohen
more than just his neighbor.
Rappa was at his wedding in
1998 and his daughter Serena’s
christening.
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“My kids grew up with
him,” he said to the Bronx
Times. “Nick is known
throughout the neighborhood.”
Rappa, a retired construction
worker, had a tomato garden
and used to give vegetables
to people who lived on the
block, Johnson said, adding
that no one expects this in Pelham
Gardens.
“Both of my kids are crying,”
he said.
Serena, 16, said she was
downstairs with her grandparents
and brother, but didn’t
hear any suspicious noises.
She only became aware of
the situation when she noticed
cops outside. Serena
knew Rappa her entire life
and talked with him often.
Although she said he was assaulted
in front of his home six
months ago, she can’t believe
someone would take his life.
“Nothing like this has ever
happened,” she said.
The investigation is ongoing
and no arrests have been
made, according to police.
Elderly man
murdered in
Pelham Gardens
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