A homeless man was stabbed repeatedly and left to die in Turtle Bay, officials said Wednesday.
A passer-by spotted 55-year-old victim John Jolly lying on the ground near the corner of East 44th Street and Third Avenue and called 911 at 11:52 p.m. Tuesday, thinking the man was just drunk.
When EMS personnel arrived, they found that Jolly (left) had sustained several stab wounds to the chest and head and took him to Bellevue Hospital, where he died, police said.
Investigators believe that the attack may have happened nearby and that he stumbled to the corner, where he collapsed.
The circumstances leading to his murder are unknown, police said.
Cops said Jolly had recently lived at two city shelters — one at 54 W. 105th St. and another at 316 Bowery, sources said.
He was a registered sex offender with 17 prior arrests, according to police sources.
Jolly was convicted in 1997 of raping a 42-year-old woman and spent five years in prison, state prison records show.