A vicious double murder that left a disabled man and his longtime health aide dead in an East Harlem apartment began as a robbery, a police source said.
Wilgen Elias Severino-Tatis, 66, and Elsa Espina-Espinal’s bodies were found around 10:34 p.m. Thursday inside NYCHA’s Gaylord White Houses on 2nd Ave. near E. 105th St., cops said. The motive for the grisly slaying had initially been unclear,
But investigators believe that Severino-Tatis, who was found bound inside his apartment, was in the process of being robbed when his health aide walked through the door after running errands, according to a source. Her return, the source said, triggered the deadly double shooting that left both victims dead.
A nephew of Severino-Tatis told the Daily News said he was dumbfounded by the NYPD’s robbery theory, saying his uncle “had the strength of a 5-year-old” but “didn’t have any money.”
“We don’t have a clue,” said Brady Severino, 39. “The guy who did this must have been out of his mind.”
Severino said his uncle worked as a car mechanic until a series of strokes left him disabled.
“He was a loving and caring man. All he cared about was family,” the victim’s nephew said. “Even though he was in bad condition, he was always positive.”
The victim’s nephew said Espina-Espinal, 55, had served as his uncle’s health aide for about five years and that the pair were “very attached.”
“Everybody in our family is down about this. This is so sudden and intense,” Severino said. “Worst-case scenario, this was a robbery, but even that doesn’t make any sense.”
“We want justice,” he added.
The killer or killer remain at large.
The bodies were discovered after Espina-Espinal’s agency reached out to her, wondering why she didn’t show up at another patient’s home. After being unable to reach the aide, the agency connected with her son, who had the number of Severino-Tatis’ neighbor.
When the neighbor came to the victim’s door, it was unlocked, police sources said. She stepped inside and found Severino-Tatis shot in the head, his hands bound.
Espina-Espinal was lying beside him, dead from a gunshot wound, police sources said.
A sister said Espina-Espinal had just returned from the supermarket when she was killed.
The harrowing double murder occurred just just weeks before Espina-Espinal’s planned retirement on Dec. 7, her daughter said.
“She didn’t deserve to go like this,” said Ellie Santana. “All she ever did was help and be a good person. And now we bury her.”
In addition to working as a home health aide for 18 years, Espina-Espinal, 55, raised four children, including a son who was murdered in 2009, relatives said.
“She was an excellent person and an excellent mother,” said her older brother, Nelson Espina. “She was the number one person in our family“.
Building employee Johnnie Gomez, 65, said the two victims were inseparable.
“They were like a mirror,” Gomez said. “She took very good care of him, like (the victim) was her own father.”
Gaylord White Management, which oversees the building with NYCHA, said employees were “actively working with NYPD and cooperating with their investigation.”
“Our thoughts are with the families of those who lost their lives,” the spokesman said.