Suspect Robs Elderly Widow of $5K She Saved for Husband’s Gravestone

An elderly widow was robbed when a suspect followed her home and allegedly stole thousands of dollars from inside her East Village apartment in Manhattan on Saturday.

Maximina Osorio, 88, told police that the suspect hid in the stairwell and waited for her to approach her front door on Saturday morning.

Osorio, whose fourth floor apartment is on East 10th Street and Avenue D, said the man grabbed her and repeatedly told her to “shut up.” She said he also took hold of her face and almost choked her in an attempt to keep her quiet.

The suspect reportedly dragged Osorio inside the Alphabet City apartment and struck her, then proceeded to look through the dwelling in search of the money.

The widow told police that the man asked, “Where’s the money?” as he continued to rummage through the home.

Reports said Osorio eventually told the suspect that the cash was in a drawer in her bedroom. Once the thief found it, he took off with the $5,000 that she had been saving to buy a headstone for her husband Salvatore’s grave, which is located at a cemetery in New Jersey.

The couple were married for 50 years before he passed away two years ago.

Following the incident, Osorio was taken to nearby Beth Israel Hospital for treatment when she complained of neck and back pain. She has since been released but is worried about a head injury following the violent robbery.

Police described the suspect as “a Hispanic man, with a light complexion, 160 pounds, approximately 5’8″ tall, with a full beard. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, a blue hoodie, blue t-shirt, white sneakers, backpack and a black and blue Philadelphia Flyers baseball cap.”

Osorio also told police that the suspect spoke both English and Spanish.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) has released surveillance footage of the alleged robber and asks anyone with information regarding the incident to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish speakers, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).