Lead Emerges In Brutal Murder Of Man Found Dead Near Bridge In Forest Park
NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) -- Authorities have a possible lead in a brutal Queens murder.
As CBS2's Steve Langford reported, police now have a name and a photo of the suspect in the vicious attack, and those who know the victim are heartbroken.
Police are now looking for Zoltan Forai also known as Stephen Forai, in connection with the murder. Forai is 44-years-old, 5'7" and 170-lbs. He has brown eyes, brown hair, and a beard.
The victim Diego Piedrahita, 23, was found with a devastating head wound near a bridge in Forest Park off Woodhaven Boulevard.
Police arrived on the scene at around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday and found the young man dead at the scene.
Juan Hormaza said his friend liked to relax under the bridge, an apparently much frequented hangout.
"I love him like he's my brother," Hormaza said, "He's a good guy, I don't know, sometimes he's crazy. I don't know what happened man."
As friends mourn a young, vibrant life cut short, the search is on for Forai.
Police said Forai has been known to hang out around the band shell in Forest Park.
As 1010 WINS' Gary Baumgarten reported, residents were happy to hear that police had a suspect, but said it seems like this kind of thing happens every summer.
"I think last year we had something like that where a female got attacked, she was almost raped. She got tazed by some guy I think," Amala said, "That's what we heard last time and we had police, almost throughout the whole summer."
Amala said she felt more comfortable when police stepped up patrols following the attempted rape. She said she would like to see police maintain their presence year-round.