Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Cops Still Tailing Worker From Dead Cleaning Woman's Building
By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 14, 2009
Modified Jul 27, 2009
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 14, 2009
Modified Jul 27, 2009
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The NYPD has no suspects in the murder of Eridania Rodriguez, a cleaning woman who was asphyxiated with construction tape last Tuesday night in an air duct at the building where she worked. But the building's freight elevator operator, 26-year-old Joseph Pabon from Staten Island, is still under surveillance by the NYPD, and last night investigators seized a Pontiac G6 belonging to his girlfriend, Lisa Marie Blumenberg, while the two were at a batting cage. (It's unclear if this is the same car Pabon threw a bowling ball through after allegedly punching and choking Blumenberg in a drunken rage.)
While the couple was hitting some dingers, cops spotted a pair of white women's sneakers inside the Pontiac and got a search warrant for the car, which was returned late last night. NYPD spokesman Paul Browne cautions that investigators "have not identified a suspect in this case. The only person who has is Pabon's attorney." A police source tells the Daily News that Pabon "can't explain the scratches on his hands, arms and neck—or why he left work early the night Rodriguez went missing."
But Pabon's lawyer Mario Gallucci blames the scratches on "minor gardening injuries," insists the sneakers were Blumenberg's, and still says he's mulling a civil lawsuit because police previously questioned his client for 25 hours without offering him food, water or the chance to use the facilities. Gallucci tells the Staten Island Advance, "We deny the allegations completely and we're ready to battle. He was very tired and worn out and very upset at the way he was treated. He did nothing wrong." Tests are expected back today to determine whether Rodriguez was sexually assaulted before she was murdered.
Tagged
air duct
arrest
autopsy
cleaning woman
Eridania Rodriguez
joseph pabon
murder
nypd
staten island
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Forest Hills Stadium can keep its concerts under deal with neighbors
Neighbors had complained of traffic and loud concerts for years.
By
Ryan Kost
Published Oct 22, 2026 at 2:49 p.m. ET
NYC Council to grill Mamdani officials on collapsed Hunts Point Produce Market deal
Council Speaker Julie Menin called the $650 million plan "mission critical."
By
Elizabeth Kim
News
NYC Council to grill Mamdani officials on collapsed Hunts Point Produce Market deal
Council Speaker Julie Menin called the $650 million plan "mission critical."
By
Elizabeth Kim
NYPD arrests 17-year-old in fatal Midtown subway platform shooting
By
Charles Lane
Ex-Adams aide accused of pocketing kickbacks from community program funds
By
Samantha Max
MTA to begin 6-year project to upgrade signal tech on A and C lines in Brooklyn and Queens
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .