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Victim Jean-Pierre Villanueva suffered severe head trauma in the June attack at College Point Park. He died three months later.
By Michael V. Cusenza
The City Medical Examiner last Thursday ruled the death of a Flushing man who was found unconscious and unresponsive in College Point Park in June a homicide.
On June 15 around 6 p.m., police discovered Jean-Pierre Villanueva, 21, on the ground near the College Point Boulevard park’s handball courts, according to Geoffrey Croft of NYC Park Advocates. He was rushed to a borough hospital in critical condition with severe head wounds. Villanueva never regained consciousness, ultimately succumbing to his injuries on Sept. 9.
The cause of death is blunt-force trauma to the head, according to the ME’s Office.
According to NYCPA, investigators have indicated that a witness said the assault stemmed from an argument on the handball court, and that the victim was punched and kicked by a single assailant.
Police have identified a person of interest in the case: a 23-year old man who has 15 prior arrests for assault, disorderly conduct, and marijuana possession and is actively on probation for a drug charge until 2020.
No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing, according to the NYPD.
Anyone with information on the Villanueva homicide is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at (800) 577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, (888) 57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit info by logging onto NYPDCrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All correspondences are strictly confidential.
Prior to Villanueva’s death, NYPD Crime Stoppers were offering “up to $2,500…for information regarding a felony assault.”
