Man found dead in Central Park playground with multiple cuts on neck: sources
A man was found dead in a Central Park playground Monday morning with multiple cuts to his neck, in what police said appeared to be a suicide.
A Central Park Conservancy worker discovered the man, who had several wounds around his stomach, chest and neck, at the Heckscher Playground at Center Drive and 62nd Street just after 8:30 a.m., police officials said.
He was not publicly identified as cops worked to notify his family, but authorities said the man is believed to be 36 years old and did not appear to be homeless.
“Our preliminary theory and investigation indicates that his injuries could have been self-inflicted,” NYPD Assistant Chief Ruel Stephenson, commander of Patrol Borough Manhattan North, said at a press briefing, while noting cops were awaiting the autopsy.
Investigators found a knife in the pocket of the hoodie he’d been wearing, cops said.
A preliminary account indicated the man was found with a shoelace wrapped around his neck, but police later said that the item was actually a string from his hoodie.
“The individual was pronounced dead at this scene at approximately 8:54 by [emergency services]. Our detectives are currently conducting a thorough investigation seeking possible witnesses and doing video canvass as we continue to investigate this case,” Stephenson added.
The city medical examiner’s office will make an official ruling on the man’s death, police said.
The playground was cordoned off by police. Bystanders Colin and Gemma Morris, on vacation from Birmingham, England, had brought their boys aged 8 and 9 to spend time in the playground but were shocked to find out what had happened.
Colin told The Post: “We were aiming to come to the playground, have a little walk around the park on our last day, and we get here and find this crime scene.
“Last night we were in the park at night, coming back from the museum. We felt quite safe. We didn’t think something like this would happen here.”
“I think if this had happened at the start of our trip, we wouldn’t have gone anywhere near Central Park at night,” his wife, Gemma Morris, noted.
Heckscher Playground, which opened in 1926 and spans 4.5 acres, is the largest playground in the iconic park, and the first of its 21 playgrounds.
