Queens detectives are searching for two suspects in the brutal assault and murder of an elderly “neighborhood patriarch”, who was found bludgeoned to death inside his Corona home on March 26.
Cops said the suspects were caught on surveillance video exiting a car near the home of Damaso Llano, 89, who owned El Mundo Supermarket in Corona.
Llano had just returned from a trip to Atlantic City when he was attacked and killed, police said. A caretaker arriving for work on the morning of March 26 discovered the body inside the home at 95-19 43rd Ave. at about 8:30 a.m.
Llano was brutally beaten and suffered severe facial trauma in the attack. His hands had been bound with plastic “flex cuffs,” police said.
Immigrating to Queens from his native Cuba in the 1960s, Llano worked several jobs to save enough money to open the supermarket, family members said.
Neighbors gathered outside the supermarket after learning of Llano’s death, recalling his kindness and willingness to help young families in the area.
“No one around here ever went without Pampers or milk for their children if he knew they needed help,” one woman said.
Detectives at the 110th Precinct Squad are urging anyone with information to call the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS or click on www.nypdcrimestoppers.com. The Hotline is offering a $2,000 reward to anyone with information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect(s).
—Liz Goff