What to Know
- A man returned home in Queens and found his 29-year-old sister dead with injuries to her neck and head, police say
- Samantha Stewart was found unconscious and unresponsive inside a Springfield Gardens home, which is near JFK Airport
- Her father said a man she had been dating is who cops are looking for in her death; he was at the house over the weekend and on Tuesday
A man found his sister dead inside her Queens home near JFK Airport and police say her death is suspicious, while her father believes she was killed by a mystery man she was dating.
Samantha Stewart’s brother discovered her unconscious with injuries to her neck and head inside her Springfield Gardens home around 9 p.m. Tuesday, according to the NYPD. The 29-year-old was last seen alive by another brother Tuesday morning, her distraught father, Kenneth Stewart, tells NBC 4 New York.
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She was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Family members said she was a nurse at Long Island Jewish Hospital. Kenneth Stewart tells News 4 he hadn't seen his daughter in a few days but thought she was just busy at work.
"We thought she was sleeping, because she works a night shift, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.," he said. "When she's sleeping, we try not to disturb her because she works at night."
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Now Kenneth Stewart says cops are looking for a man she dated who was also seen on a neighbor's surveillance system going in and out of the house. He said the family members, who all live in the area, doesn't know that man or even his name. His whereabouts are not known either, according to Kenneth Stewart, who added that the man had been at the home over the weekend and again on Tuesday morning, just hours before she turned up dead.
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The brother said he found her naked and wrapped in a blanket in a bedroom, according to Kenneth Stewart. He added that she appeared to have been strangled and that her tongue was sticking out and her teeth were knocked out.
"I am heartbroken," Kenneth Stewart said.
Family members described Samantha as a sweet and quiet young woman who kept to herself and loved her job.
Neighbor Garfield Barrows said she was a "very, very nice and decent young lady. Very. She would always say hi to me."
Video from the scene shows a crime scene truck parked outside the home while detectives investigated.
No arrests have been made and police say their investigation is ongoing. They would not confirm if they were looking for anyone specific in the case.
