Bronx boy who watched in horror as father was murdered IDs killers from a lineup
JJDONTPLAY
A 10-year-old boy who watched in horror as his father was stabbed to death in the Bronx bravely plucked the suspected killers from a lineup, police sources said.
Even before that act of courage, the fifth-grader ran screaming up and down the ninth-floor hallway of his building at the Castle Hill Houses on Wednesday afternoon, pleading with neighbors to help his father.
The boy banged on doors and tried to call 911, but something was wrong with his cell phone.
"They're killing my dad!" the boy hollered, neighbor Santiago Gio, 43, said. "He had a phone in his hand and was trying to call the cops. But for some reason, it wasn't working."
When Gio opened his door, he saw Raul Rolon, 47, stumbling down the hallway. Rolon hit his head on a concrete wall and fell to the floor.
"Blood was everywhere," Gio recalled.
"My father's going to die!" the boy screamed.
When Rolon stopped moving, his son repeated the same question over and over.
"Is he dead?" he asked, as tears streamed down his face. "Is he going to die?"
Rolon's wife of 18 years also watched the murder.
"She couldn't even move," Gio said. "She was in so much shock, screaming so loud."
The father of two died in the hallway in front of his wife and son.
"He was trying to protect his family," said the dead man's brother-in-law, Julio Colon, 49. "He put himself in harm's way."
The Daily News is not identifying the little boy because he was a witness to a crime.
Colon said Rolon, his wife and their son had stopped at a store near their home.
When they came outside, a young man was leaning on the dad's car. Rolon asked him to move, sparking an argument between the father and two men around 5:30 p.m.
About 15 minutes later, the family arrived on their floor and found the same two young men waiting for them. One lunged toward Rolon, who got the best of the first attacker. The other plunged a knife into the dad. Within minutes, Rolon lay mortally wounded.
Sources told The News the boy picked the suspects from a digital database and then identified them in a physical lineup.
Cops charged Efrain Soler, 18, with murder and criminal possession of a weapon. He was ordered held without bail after his arraignment last night.
William (Cain) Canada, 25, was also charged with murder and was awaiting arraignment.
Rolon was recently laid off from his job at a private company maintaining city bus shelters, but was to return to work Monday.
Colon said Rolon's concern had always been saving money for college for his son and 17-year-old daughter.
Outside the family's building yesterday, neighbors stopped and glanced at a cardboard makeshift memorial.
One of the messages read: "Love you forever!"
With Irving DeJohn and Joe Jackson
rparascandola@nydailynews.com
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_..._10_nails_his_dads_killers.html#ixzz1LfjL4gJHJJDONTPLAY
7:34:35 AM
May 7, 2011
I grew up in the Castle Hill houses we moved there from Simpson st. in the Bronx in 1970 back then there were working families of all nationalities our neighbors was a World War 2 vet named Bill who would show us cool old photos of him in the Army and the bullet scars from the Japanese he lived alone with his pet Spider Monkey, then we had Francis an elderly widow white lady about 80 years old my mom always had us knock on her door to check on her and ask if she needed anything from the store, then In front of us were the Mercado's the father was Puerto Rican and his wife was Irish they had 3 boys who the Oldest Steve Mercado became a firefighter and died on 9/11 in the towers then there was Willie a nice Black gentleman with a wife and kids, my parents are still there but most of the good people moved or are dead.
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JJDONTPLAY
7:47:14 AM
May 7, 2011
Its sad because I had good memories growing up as a kid there we used to go fishing by the river looking at the Whitestone bridge and there was actually fish Lol,on nice warm summer nights my father used to take us for walks to the end of Claosn Point to the water.The city and govt is responsible for the breakdown of these places once they moved in the druggies and welfare recipients,and I don't mean the elderly or handicapped the ones that need the help the women with 5 to 8 kids getting a check for each one of them and with a man living with them, and the junkies on drug programs when the decent people saw this they started packing up,in the 80's when I was in the Army Crack came on the scene and it was the beggining of the end over those years to know thousands died. People make a neighborhood bad not the buildings if you put bad people there you'll have a bad neighborhood.
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Ezekiel12
7:47:54 AM
May 7, 2011
As always, Anacondman says it best. These two cretins would have probably hurt anyone. They were simply looking for someone to attack. We see individuals like this all the time. In the suburbs, it's young, White toughs who give you dirty looks if you walk by. In the inner city, it's usually the do-rag set. They all have two character traits in common: They're all sullen and angry. It does not matter the color, though you will find more of these type in the inner city on average. It's a mindset amongst a minority of young people. Because the vast majority of our young people do not engage in acts of violence like this. It's only a few who do. But because the acts they perpetrate are spectacularly vile, that's why they always make the news. My condolences to the Colon family and to their friends.
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hadtoleave
7:57:31 AM
May 7, 2011
You know **** like this makes me sick!! There is no respect for life,these tough guys (2 on 1 with a knife)are breeding all over the city(50 states),the police can't protect you. Wake up AMERICA!!! The LIBERALS are to blame,when these POS'S go to jail they feel at home. Start making prison,"PRISON"and maybe these senseless acts will cease.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_..._10_nails_his_dads_killers.html#ixzz1LfjL4gJH
