son-accused-of-allegedly-killing-his-mother-and-leaving-her-body-in-a-box-in-a-brooklyn-apartmentSon accused of allegedly killing his mother and leaving her body in a box in a Brooklyn apartment
Marlyn Montilla avatar

By Marlyn Montilla

05 Nov 2023, 11:45 AM EST

A man was formally charged with murder after his mother’s body was found inside a box in her Brooklyn apartment, New York authorities reported.

The body of Shirley Awer, 67, was found by a social worker who visited the East Flatbush apartment on Friday afternoon, officials said.

The social worker found the woman’s remains in a large box and called the police.

The suspect identified as David Drummond, 30, was arrested at the apartment after allegedly admitting that he fatally beat her, agents and law enforcement sources said.

The accused allegedly suffers from schizophrenia.

Officials did not release how Awer, who was described by neighbors as a 5-foot-8-inch lithe woman known for walking daily in the area, died.

A police source familiar with the case said no weapons were involved, adding that officers were trying to determine whether Drummond had beaten her to death or strangled her, Daily News reported.

This was the man’s first arrest in New York City, police said.

Mother and son lived in the six-story apartment building for two months and kept to themselves, the building’s superintendent said.

“I don’t know much about them because they were new tenants,” said the superintendent, who preferred anonymity. “I see her walking outside a lot. I didn’t speak to the other boy. I never had any complaints about them.”

The building manager said he never met Drummond. In the few conversations he had with the victim, the woman never talked about her son.

Another resident said he frequently found the defendant outside the building smoking.

“He used to sit [fuera del edificio] to smoke all day. He does not work. He would talk to himself. He was walking through Flatbush [Ave.] “talking to himself as if he were talking to someone who wasn’t there,” the neighbor said.

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By Scribe