12 THE QUEENS COURIER • APRIL 11, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
police beat COMPILED BY EMILY DAVENPORT, BILL PARRY, AND ROBERT POZARYCKI
105th Precinct
Queens Village, Laurelton,
Springfi eld Gardens
Cold cases solved
An 80-year-old St. Albans man was
arrested Monday for a grisly double homicide
that occurred nearly a half century
ago.
Th e NYPD assisted detectives from
the Virginia Beach Police Department
in locating, apprehending and collecting
forensic evidence from Ernest Jean
Broadnax, who is awaiting extradition to
Virginia where he will be charged on two
counts of second-degree murder and one
count of rape, according to the VBPD.
Victims Janice Pietropola and Lynn
Seethaler, both 19 years of age at the
time, went to Virginia Beach from the
Pittsburgh area for summer vacation. On
June 30, 1973, the women were found
dead inside their beachfront cottage and
the Medical Examiner’s Offi ce ruled both
deaths to be homicide.
Investigators found Seethaler shot twice
with her throat slashed and they determined
Pietropola was raped, strangled
and shot three times, authorities said.
Th e case turned cold aft er “exhaustive
measures failed to positively identify a
suspect, but in 2018, VBPD Cold Case
Investigators began aggressively researching
a strong lead they had received in
the case and subsequently identifi ed
Broadnax as the perpetrator.
Police say Broadnax had been arrested
at least 10 times in New York City on
charges including burglary, assault and
weapons possession dating back to 1990.
He served at least 10 years in state prison,
according to authorities.
A statement from the Virginia Beach
Police Department said its cold case team
followed leads and used “advanced forensic
technology,” as part of the investigation
and thanked detectives of the
105th Precinct in Queens Village and the
Queens District Attorney’s offi ce, among
others, for their assistance with the investigation
which “helped facilitate an outcome
that will hopefully provide peace
for the victims’ families,” the statement
concluded.
Slashing in Richmond Hill
Cops are looking for a man who
attacked a woman with a box cutter on a
South Richmond Hill street early Saturday
morning.
Authorities said that at 3:25 a.m. on
April 9, a 27-year-old woman was walking
eastbound on Liberty Avenue when
she was approached by an unknown man.
According to law enforcement sources,
the perpetrator proceeded to slash the victim
in the head and right arm with a box
cutter. Police say that the victim did not
know her attacker; it’s not yet known what
motivated the attack.
Th e suspect then fl ed the scene westbound
on Liberty Avenue in a dark-colored,
four-door sedan, police said.
Offi cers from the 106th Precinct and
EMS responded to the scene. Paramedics
transported the victim to Jamaica
Hospital, where she was treated for her
injuries.
Anyone with information about his
identity or whereabouts can call 106th
Precinct at 718-845-2261. All calls are
kept confi dential.
108th Precinct
Long Island City, Sunnyside, and
Woodside
Robbery at Woodside Motel
Police need the public’s help in fi nding
a man who used a glass plate as his weapon
of choice to rob a victim at a lodge in
Woodside.
Law enforcement sources said the caper
occurred at 3:50 a.m. on March 27 inside
the Woodside Motel at 65-09 Queens
Blvd.
According to authorities, the bandit
confronted a 29-year-old man inside the
location and threatened to harm him with
the glass plate while demanding property.
Th e suspect took the man’s cellphone,
debit card and checkbook, then fl ed in an
unknown direction.
Th e incident was reported to the 108th
Precinct; the victim was not injured.
On April 6, the NYPD released a security
camera image of the suspect wanted
for questioning. Police described him as
a black man with a medium build, standing
5 feet, 10 inches tall, who was last seen
wearing a red bandana, a black jacket and
black pants.
Anyone with information regarding his
whereabouts can call Crime Stoppers at
800-577-TIPS (for Spanish, dial 888-57-
PISTA), visit the Crime Stoppers website,
send a direct message on Twitter to
@NYPDTips or text 274637 (CRIMES),
then enter TIP577. All calls and messages
are kept confi dential.
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106th Precinct
Ozone Park, South Ozone Park,
Howard Beach
Church burglars
remain at large
Cops are looking for two people who
broke into a Howard Beach church earlier
this week and stole money out of
donation boxes.
Security video obtained by police
shows one of the suspects stealing from
a donation stand inside of St. Helen’s
Roman Catholic Church, 157-10 83rd
St., at about 3 a.m. on April 4.
Law enforcement sources said the
two thieves, a black man in his late
30s and a black female in her 40s,
broke through the church’s front door
and removed $400 from four separate
boxes.
Video available on QNS.com shows
the female burglar tipping over a donation
stand near a votive candle display,
then reaching through the bottom of
the box to pull out dollar bills.
Th e break-in was later reported to the
106th Precinct.
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