Police have resurfaced a cold-case killing in Queens from more than 20 years ago in hopes of finding new leads, according to NYPD officials.
Jeffrey Blackman, 42, was discovered dead in a Buick sedan on Park Drive East in Kew Gardens Hills around 5 a.m. on April 20, 1999, police said. Officials said his death was ruled a homicide in June of that year.
Barry Bauman, Blackman’s cousin, told Gothamist he remembered talk of gruesome details about Jeffrey’s last moments, including that he was found with a screwdriver through his nose.
“ It was a horrible death is all I know. [He was] missing for weeks, and they found him in the trunk of his car,” Bauman said. “I guess they wanted some information from him or just [were] making an example of him.”
Police officials said they could not confirm those details, but said Blackman was suffocated through compression of his neck before he was dumped in the trunk.
Jeffrey Blackman in a photo distributed by the NYPD.
The NYPD has not made any arrests in the case. Officials said some recent tips led them to republish information about the killing to see if further leads might come forward.
As the case languished, Blackman’s mother called police every week to see if there were any new developments, even after she had moved to Florida, Bauman recalled. She died in 2020, according to an online obituary.
Bauman said his cousin had worked for the MTA in some capacity, adding that he last saw him at a family gathering a few weeks before his death. Police said Blackman lived on Talbot Street in Kew Gardens, about a mile from where he was found dead.
“ He was always a fun guy,” Bauman said. “You know, nothing very serious ever.”
The NYPD asked anyone with information to call the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS (8477) or, for Spanish, 888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit tips on the Crime Stoppers website.
