June 23, 2016 Staff Report
The NYPD is asking Sunnysiders for help on a double homicide that has been unsolved for more than a decade.
A handful of flyers have been posted around Sunnyside asking anyone with information on the June 21, 2005 killing of Rose Gilbert and John Dalton, who were found dead at 42-09 47th Ave., to step forward.
Gilbert was an aspiring actress who shared a room with Dalton, a chauffer, according to reports from the time. Dalton was reportedly bludgeoned to death but Gilbert was stabbed. They were found dead by a third roommate.
The flyers include pictures of the two victims and state that a reward of up to $12,000 is available for information on the double homicide.
Background information on the murder is posted in smaller print at the bottom half of the flyer. One local resident told the Sunnyside Post that he mistook the campaign for information on a recent crime.
“[We] sporadically put them up to refresh [peoples’] memory,” a detective with the 108 Precinct said. “We want to still keep these cases relevant, so we put the posters up every so often.”
Anyone with information on the crime is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-8477.
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13 Comments
So here it is July 2nd 2023 and the killer has not yet been found for my sister Rose Gilbert nor has her killer been apprehended. I am aware that there was a large fire of some kind where evidence was kept, however we haven’t been informed of how or what happened that caused a fire that may have destroyed any evidence. Was this murder about a gay man living with a straight woman? We haven’t had any solid evidence that this is still being looked at. This whole situation bothers me beyond words, so I am asking again, with all the blood at the scene, and noise that must have been generated, no one saw anything??
Rose Gilbert is my Grandmother. She was the heart of our whole family. She was strong, loving, giving. She would have given her last dollar to anyone who asked. She was humble. Family, Singing and acting made her who she was. She dreamed of performing at Carnegie Hall since she was a little girl and she worked until she got there ! She lived her dream, but it was short lived. Until this day I still can not believe anyone could hurt her. Our family has never been the same. We all think about her and miss her every single day. We find strength in knowing she is still with usbin spirit but someone took her from us and someone has to know something. Over ten years later and we are all still dying for answers. For justice.. If anyone knows knows anything please… Please say something
It is unbelievable to me that this kind of double murder has absolutely no evidence. I lost my sister who loved being in NY, loved being an entertainer, and gave everyone a smile wherever she went. Please find her killer, we have missed her !
John Dalton was a good man, it’s so sad to think that this has never been solved.. I am a personal friend of John and miss him everyday…
I’m also a good old friend of John,im also sick to my stomach no one has been arrested for this horrible crime I miss John dearly.
Yes, John was a really good man. He was always there for anyone he knew. I am the Michael he was coming to Florida to stay with.
I knew of a person that he was afraid of , he told me the name and I contacted the lead investigator to pass on the information I had.. I too can not believe this case was never solved. I am sick to think the person responsible is still out there ! I know John would have never let him into the apartment, It had to have been the other victim not knowing John was afraid of him .
I miss John everyday.
If you think cops trying to solve a murder by posting flyers is ghetto, then perhaps you should move out of the area. There’s other ghetto things in the neighborhood you should be concerned about rather than this
you can walk across the street from this building, 43rd street park, a plethora of “ghetto” things…smh
This is disturbing, serves no purpose and makes our town look like ghetto. Until someone pointed out that it happened a decade ago, I thought this was something recent. Did NYPD get a push from someone to do this, where did they get the idea to plaster the street with these flyers?
““[We] sporadically put them up to refresh [peoples’] memory,” No, I never saw flyers like this about other murders. I remember someone else was also beaten to death on a building on 43rd ave, why don’t they post about that too?
I am a friend of one of the victims and wish that someone would come forward with information on this case.. Someone must know or have seen something. Possibly someone running from the building covered in blood..
There was a young man named Anthony that John was afraid of and maybe unknowingly Rose Gilbert the other victim let him into the apartment..
Michael, I’m an NYPD investigator working on this case. As John has no relatives in the US, we’d appreciate talking with you about him. Please contact me at michael.devine@nypd.org
You must have your cases mixed up.. John was a New Yorker .. All of his family still lives in N.Y.
My sister was murdered in that building, they have not bothered to catch her killer. They damn sure better be putting up flyers.