Queens super found dead under bed after trying to collect rent was killed with pipe: prosecutors

Queens: A tragic story has unfolded in Kew Gardens Hills. A building superintendent, Jose Rene Portillo, was found dead under a tenant’s bed. Prosecutors say he was brutally beaten with a heavy pipe.

The suspect, Sandra Coto Navarro Portillo, has been charged with murder. She allegedly tried to mislead police by claiming Portillo had collected $26,000 in back rent and left. But surveillance footage told a different story. It showed him entering the apartment but never leaving.

When police arrived, they found Portillo’s body hidden under Navarro’s bed, wrapped in garbage bags. There was also a bloody mop and a strong smell of bleach in the room, suggesting an attempt to clean up after the crime.

The medical examiner confirmed that Portillo died from blunt force trauma to the head. Navarro even tried to cut him after he was dead, likely in a desperate attempt to hide what she had done.

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz described the murder as gruesome, emphasizing the impact on Portillo’s family. His wife confronted Navarro, expressing her heartbreak and anger.

Neighbors remembered Portillo as a helpful and friendly man, while they described Navarro and her boyfriend as disruptive. Many are still in shock over the incident, struggling to comprehend how such violence could occur over a rent dispute.