NYC escort murdered?

[uwsman2]

Gay City News in NYC has an article in the issue out today about the teen arrested in this murder, who committed suicide in jail a few days ago, and who had claimed that an older man was present in the apartment and responsible for the murder. Here's the article:

 

Gay City News, January 19, 2006

Inmate Suicide; Still Questions

Youth held in murder of Chelsea masseur maintained innocence to the end

By PAUL SCHINDLER

 

José Tavares, 17, arrested January 8 in the brutal strangulation murder of Shlomy Rejwan—a masseur who police sources told the dailies had previously been charged with prostitution—maintained all along that in fact he was a victim of sexual abuse in Rejwan’s Chelsea apartment. Tavares told police that a 47-year-old man he called Victor sexually abused him and then killed Rejwan.

 

Now, we may never know whether Tavares’ claim of innocence was true.

 

 

On January 13, while awaiting his return to Rikers Island in a holding pen after a hearing at Manhattan Criminal Court at 100 Centre Street, adjacent to the Tombs, Tavares hung himself with his shirt.

 

 

Thomas Antenen, a spokesman for the city Department of Correction, said that as with all deaths in the correctional system, Tavares’ suicide will be investigated by the Death Review Board of the state Department of Correctional Services.

 

 

Alan Abramson, a Manhattan attorney who would have represented Tavares had the youth gone to trial on second-degree murder and first-degree arson charges, noted that his client was classified as a “mental observation inmate” and said, “The basic concept is this: He was a 17-year-old boy in the custody of the Department of Correction. They had an obligation to make certain that he was handled in a proper and safe manner. There was a failure to fulfill that obligation.”

Tavares’ stepfather, 32-year old Deyvi Franco, who married the youth’s mother a decade ago and expressed confidence in his stepson’s innocence, told Gay City News, “I want to hear the truth. I want to know what happened to that guy in the Village. I want to know what happened to my stepson.”

 

 

The tragic case began on December 27 when firefighters, responding to a blaze at 228 West 18th Street, found Rejwan, an Israeli immigrant, dead with burns on his body. The Medical Examiner’s Office ruled that the death was caused by “compression of the neck,” or strangulation. Police believe the fire was set in the hopes of covering up the murder.

 

 

Phone records led the police to Tavares, who lived with his mother and stepfather at 76 Saint Nicholas Place in Washington Heights. The youth maintained that a Colombian immigrant, who he said was 47 and named Victor, was in Rejwan’s apartment with him and subjected him to sexual assault prior to killing the masseur.

 

 

No other arrests have been made in the murder, though Barbara Thompson, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan district attorney’s office, confirmed that the homicide case had never been closed and will continue. No other details on the investigation were available from either the D.A.’s office or the police.

 

 

Rejwan’s body was found with his hands and feet tied up with an electrical cord, his pants around his ankles, and his mouth gagged. Though he died of strangulation, his body was badly burned in the fire that followed. Police sources told the Daily News that the 5-foot, 10-inch, 180-pound Tavares “definitely played a role” in the murder of Rejwan, who was 6-foot and 196 pounds.

 

 

Immediately after reports of Rejwan’s murder surfaced, news stories said that the victim had been arrested on prostitution charges and consequently, as an immigrant, faced deportation. The district attorney’s office would not comment on whether Rejwan had been arrested or convicted.

 

 

Mark Thorn, a spokesman for the New York City office of the federal Homeland Security’s Law Enforcement Division, told Gay City News that Rejwan’s name did not match any record in the government’s deportation computer files. A knowledgeable source said that an immigrant charged but not convicted of a crime would not be processed for deportation based on crimes alleged but not proven.

 

 

The district attorney’s office was not aware of any prior arrests of Tavares.

 

 

In the wake of Tavares’ suicide, Franco, his stepfather, described the youth as “quiet,” “a good boy,” and “a good student” at Manhattan Bridges High School in Hell’s Kitchen, where he was a junior. Asked whether his stepson was gay, Franco said he didn’t know—“He didn’t show that he was gay… He took care of his mother. He came home early and stayed in at night.”

 

 

Franco said that Tavares had been “scared” by what he witnessed and for having been “forced” to engage in sex with the man the youth called Victor. The stepfather said Tavares consistently maintained his innocence.

 

 

Abramson, who is now representing Tavares’ family, called his late client’s death “tragic and unnecessary.” For now, the family has no specific plans to launch legal action.

 

 

“We are evaluating, trying to understand what happened,” Abramson said. “They have to bury their son first.”

 

 

Antenen, the correction department spokesman, said that Tavares had been evaluated by a private team of medical and psychiatric professionals and as a result was classified as a “mental observation inmate.” He was not, however, judged to be either “acute” or “sub-acute” in his needs, and therefore was not placed on “constant one-on-one supervision.” Inmates viewed as having more serious psychological problems are given paper bedding and clothing because most jailhouse suicides result from hanging by sheets or articles of clothing.

 

 

Antenen said that there has been one suicide in the correctional system since the fiscal year began last July1, five the previous year, and one the year before that.

 

 

According to Antenen, Tavares did receive “mental health services.”

 

 

At roughly 3 p.m. on January 13, Tavares was in a holding pen at the courthouse awaiting processing for his return to Rikers following his hearing earlier that day. The pen generally holds multiple inmates, but the youth was alone.

 

 

Antenen said that a guard had walked by the pen at about 3:10 and Tavares was fine. Five minutes later, a correction officer found him slumped forward on a bench, with his shirt wrapped around his neck and the other end secured to the pen’s bars.

 

 

Tavares was pronounced dead at the scene.

[BgMstr4u]

Thanks for this from the Daily News. A helpful article.

 

To strangle yourself horizontally would seem to take a lot of determination.

[Guest kimberly]

I knew the young man...he was sweet and beautiful...

 

I was a hs teacher in at a small hs in NYC when I got a call early one morning that one of our students was arrested for the murder of Mr. Rejwan. The accused was a gentle young man named Jose. He preferred reading to being rowdy in the lunchroom. He was thoughtful, respectful and raised well with both parents in the home. He was not a thug, thief, gang member or in any way trying to hurt people as he lived his life. He was a good example for his younger brother, attending school, doing well, minding his business and working a part time job. He had just come here from the Dominican Republic less than a year before that.

 

High school is a time when people are really figuring out who they are, and our school environment was very supportive of students coming out. With 100 students per grade, we knew everyone's business and we were their staunchest supporters. Many of our students acknowledged their sexual preferences and I think that was very hard for them, coming from a Latino background and being so courageous to be honest with who they were while so young.

 

Jose was surely one of these young men exploring his sexuality. The power of the internet was new to him; he had never had access before. He did not know how to safely navigate, I think. But we all know how alluring it can be and how bad-intentioned people hide behind their computers. Police sources said there was merit to his claim that another man was involved. I believe Jose was put in a compromising position and had his own life threatened by a 3rd party that brought him to this apartment. I do believe someone else had a grudge with Mr. Rejwan and used Jose (seriously naive, not street-wise) as a cover. This was not a homophobic act perpetrated by Jose. He may very well have been seeking an erotic experience and would have no issue himself with Mr. Rejwan.

 

Jose was placed on Riker's Island and did not understand what was happening to him. After being remanded after a bail hearing, he took his life in "the Tombs". I do not believe it was out of guilt for having killed a man; I think it was out of fear and shame. When you come from a "normal" household, you actually care what your family and friends think. I know in my heart that his intentions were pure and thank you all for letting me share. He was not anti-anyone. He was kind and gentle, not a closet psycho killer. I hope they can both rest in peace.

[Luv2play]

This is a very moving post that has resurrected this old story which had faded from view. There always is another side which sometimes the press does not get. Thanks for bringing it to us.

 

As an aside, in rereading one of the earlier posts I saw that the "Tombs', as it was known for many years, had been renamed the Bernard Kerik Detention Center by 2006. I wonder what it's name is now? I assume Kerik's name disappeared as fast as the Enron name disappeared several years earlier.

[+ Lucky]

It was a tragedy all around. I am not criticizing, but I am curious as to how this thread came to your attention after all this time. What I am wondering is how you discovered the website, and then the thread that had relevance to you.

[NYTomcat]

Thank you for sharing that side of this story. As always the individuals are never as clear as we would like to make them so that they fit inside our stereotypical boxes. I am amazed at how you found this site or this older post but gratified that you did.

 

What is clear is no matter what the circumstances 2 needless deaths have left many grieving... and for that we are all lessened.