Queens, NY: Queens Man Accused of Killing His Wife and Son

By AL BAKER
Published: November 21, 2009
A Queens man was charged with killing his wife and 14-year-old son on Saturday after their bodies were found in a closet of the family’s three-room apartment with their throats cut, the authorities said.

“They were wrapped in black plastic,” said Richard A. Brown, the Queens district attorney, who visited the building, at 39-02 111th Street in Corona.

The names of the woman, who was 54, and the boy were not immediately released.

The man, Otto Herrarte, 48, was charged with two counts of second-degree murder after he was questioned at the 115th Precinct station house on Northern Boulevard, the police said.

During questioning, Mr. Herrarte, a cleaner at a Manhattan hotel, indicated that he had killed his wife and son by slashing their throats on a mattress on Friday before he hid the bodies, the police said.

Neighbors described the family as quiet and conservative. One neighbor said the family was Peruvian and that another son, 15, also lived there.

“They were really calm,” Juan Espinoza, the building superintendent, said through a translator. “This is weird because he was a really passive guy.”

The police said they were called to Mr. Herrarte’s apartment by one of his co-workers, who dialed 911 about 12:54 p.m. to say that she was with Mr. Herrarte and that he had told her about the bodies.

Earlier in the day, the police said, Mr. Herrarte had asked the woman to join him in taking the 15-year-old to a relative’s house.

The woman did so and returned with Mr. Herrarte to the apartment, where he told her about the bodies in the closet, the police said. It was in the apartment’s living room, which was also serving as a bedroom.

In his account to detectives, Mr. Herrarte said that when his 15-year-old son arrived home on Friday and asked where his mother and brother were, he said they had been in a car accident and would not be coming home.

At one point in the questioning, Mr. Herrarte made statements indicating he had a dual personality, said a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case was ongoing.

The father and surviving son stayed in the apartment overnight, with the boy unaware that the bodies were in the closet, the police said.

State Assembly José R. Peralta, who represents part of Queens, said he had heard that the killings occurred while the victims were asleep, but police said they could not confirm that report.

Brunilda Soler, 67, who lives across the hall from the Herrartes, said she saw members of the family return home on Friday evening but did not hear anything unusual until the police arrived on Saturday afternoon. “I thought it was a fight,” she said. “But when I saw the forensics men in white, I thought someone was dead.”

Elizabeth Labron, 43, a probation officer who lives on the first floor of the four-story building, said she often saw the woman who was killed. “It was just hi and bye,” she said. “I never really had a conversation with her. I guess I was one of the lucky few whom she spoke with. I guess she was shy. It took a little while for her to warm up just to say hello.”

Colin Moynihan and Rebecca White contributed reporting.