Police are investigating the death of a man found deceased last month in Van Cortlandt Park woods in an area southwest of Woodlawn Heights on Friday the 13th.

 

According to the NYPD, officers from the 50th Precinct were called to a wooded area near the Allen Shandler Recreation Area of Van Cortlandt Park, located at Jerome Avenue and East 233rd Street at 12:40 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 13.

 

An unnamed police official issued a brief statement on the incident on Oct. 17 that read in part, “Officers observed a 42-year-old male, unconscious and unresponsive. EMS responded and pronounced the aided male deceased on scene.”

The statement concluded, “The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death. The investigation remains ongoing at this time. The identity of the deceased is pending family notification.”

 

In follow-up email requests sent by Norwood News, the NYPD was asked about an earlier police radio transmission seemingly referring to the incident in question during which an officer was heard saying the deceased was discovered hanging from a tree. The NYPD was also asked if they could confirm reports that the victim had been discovered by a City Parks’ department employee. We did not receive a response to our inquiries.

Several ambulances as well as representatives from the City’s Medical Examiner were seen at the scene on the day of the incident, in addition to police.

 

Police were also asked about a previous case in which, when contacted, the department described “an unidentified, individual male” who had been found in the same general location on Nov. 24, 2020. At that time, in another brief statement on that incident, NYPD officials said the unidentified victim was discovered after a 911 call was received on the date in question at 10:40 a.m. in a wooded area near the Mosholu Golf Course.

 

At the time, police said of the 2020 incident that criminality was not suspected. Norwood News asked if the victim from that incident had since been identified. We were sent the same statement as was issued in the days following the discovery of the man’s body. The statement concluded, “The investigation is ongoing.”

 

We also contacted the Parks Department for comment on the latest Oct. 13 incident. A Parks’ official directed our inquiries on the matter to the NYPD.

Norwood News also reached out to the Office of the City’s Medical Examiner regarding both deaths. We did not receive an immediate response.

 

The body of another man was previously found inside Van Cortlandt Park, close to Jerome Avenue and East Gun Hill Road in Norwood, in January 2019, as reported.

 

In February 2022, as reported, the body of a man was also found dead in Van Cortlandt Park on the John Muir Trail in the vicinity of the Henry Hudson Parkway and the Mosholu Parkway Extension.

 

In December 2022, the body of a man, “at least a few days old,” was removed from Van Cortlandt Park from the area along Mosholu Parkway North just past West Gun Hill Road, as reported.

 

In August 2023, we reported on the discovery of the body of an apparently deceased man, who was reportedly homeless, inside French Charley Park / Bronx Park East.

 

We will share any further updates we receive from authorities on these cases.