Manhattan jurors on Thursday saw the charred remains of two men who perished in the 2015 East Village gas explosion — as one victim’s devastated mother sobbed in the gallery.
The bodies of Nicholas Figueroa, 23, and Moises Locon, 27, were recovered under rubble three days after the March 26 blast that leveled three buildings.
Prosecutor Randolph Clarke Jr. briefly displayed on the courtroom monitor the disturbing pictures of Figueroa, who was covered in dust and was almost indistinguishable from the ruins around him.
The graphic images caused the victim’s mother, Ana Lanza, to burst into tears, as her husband, Nixon Figueroa, tightly embraced her. The couple’s three surviving sons sat stoically beside them.
A court officer brought her a tissue and a glass of water, as jurors glanced in their direction.
Landlord Maria Hrynenko, contractor Dilber Kukic and unlicensed plumber Athanasios “Jerry” Ioannidis are on trial in Manhattan Supreme Court accused of manslaughter and other charges.
Prosecutors have argued that the defendants illegally diverted gas from 119 Second Ave. to 121 Second Ave, both owned by Hrynenko, which caused the tragic blast and raging fire that killed two and maimed at least 13 people.
Figueroa had been on a lunch date at the restaurant Sushi Park, on the ground floor of 121 Second Avenue, when the powerful explosion ripped through the building.
Detective Julianne Henry, who took the photos, told jurors he was identified from an ID in his pocket.
Two hours after Figueroa was excavated from the mound of debris, a few feet away, authorities discovered the second victim, Locon, who was a busboy at the eatery.
The picture of Locon showed that he was burnt beyond recognition. He would later be identified through DNA.
As Lanza left the courtroom with her family, she said through tears, “It was painful to see that. This is a rollercoaster of so many emotions.”
Figueroa’s brother, Neal Figueroa, said that prosecutors had graciously shown the photos to the family for the first time the day before — except to his mother.
“It made a little easier, and we had our cries over the night,” he said.
“We’re just grateful to have my brother come back at all,” he added, referring to the family’s relief that Figueroa’s remains were ultimately recovered.