NYC lawmaker warns that killer may be targeting gay men in Queens
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A New York City lawmaker is warning gay men that a killer may be targeting them in Queens.
MyFoxNY.com reports that Councilman Daniel Dromm says that two homosexual men have been murdered within a week of each other in his district, which encompasses the Jackson Heights and Elmhurst sections.
The first murder occurred at 32-23 91st St. on Feb. 3, and the second occurred one week later on Saturday at the Crown Motor Inn at 74-01 Queens Blvd.
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In both cases, the middle-aged victims were strangled and no signs of forced entry were found, Dromm said.
The latest victim was reportedly identified as Joseph Benzinger, a 54-year-old man who recently retired from the Department of Sanitation.
Neighbors told DNAinfo.com that Benzinger was a friendly man who enjoyed going fishing with his father, who lived with him in the borough’s Middle Village section.
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"He just helped my wife shovel the snow yesterday," neighbor Rudy Borbor told the website. "When I first moved in ... he came over and he said, 'Rudy, if there's anything I can do, let me know.'"
Borbor continued: "It breaks my heart. It really does. I feel for his father."
NYPD spokesman Paul Browne told FoxNews.com that investigations into the homicides were ongoing, but said the murders do not appear to be related.
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Click for more from MyFoxNY.com.
FoxNews.com's Joshua Rhett Miller contributed to this report.