Jan. 29, 2015 By Christian Murray
Photo: Unsplash (Courtesy of Bill Oxford)
A Boston man who murdered a Berkeley Towers resident inside the victim’s apartment was convicted yesterday of second degree murder, according to the Queens District Attorney’s office.
Raymond Epps, 58, strangled and robbed Wayne Graves, 62, who was later found dead in his Woodside bathtub.
Graves fell victim to Epps in October 2011 after he allowed the Bostonian to stay with him in his 11th floor apartment, after meeting Epps at the Port Authority Bus Terminal.
“The defendant repaid his benefactor’s generous act of kindness by strangling him in his own home and then stealing his credit cards,” said Queens District Attorney Richard A Brown.”His actions warrant a lengthy prison sentence to punish him and protect society.”
Epps, who has been in custody since December 2011, faces up to 25 years to life in prison.
Gerard Torre, a friend of Graves, testified that he visited the apartment on October 16, 2011, and that Epps introduced himself and said that he needed a place to stay and was staying a few nights with Graves.
Torre repeatedly called Graves the next day, but there was no answer. Then on Oct. 19, 2011, Torre went to the apartment and when no one answered he had the building’s super to open the door.
Graves’ body was discovered in the bathtub and his death was ruled as the result of strangulation.
Epps used Graves’ credit cards to buy a bus fare back to Boston. He then used the credit cards to buy merchandise from various stores, which he then used to trade for crack cocaine, according to the district attorney’s office.
8 Comments
Sounds like a gay murder so let’s look the other way
I knew Wayne – he was a very nice person – whether you are gay or not or what you do/did should not make someone taking your life excusable. No one deserves to be murdered like that.
Are we suppose to hate him more the fact that he’s a Bostonian?
Picking up a homeless person at the bus terminal usually doesn’t end well.
I bet JVB knows why he took him in.
THAT DUDE GRAVES WAS PROBABLY GAY. WHT ELSE WOULD YOU TAKE A TOTAL STRANGER HOME?
Weird, What are we not being told?
This is a shame but I wonder what made Graves take this stranger home? Hopefully he stays in prison forever with no reduction for good behavior..