District Attorney Darcel Clark announced yesterday that a Bronx man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree manslaughter in the 1999 death of his neighbor.
The defendant, Curtis Batchelor, 44, was sentenced to 20 years in prison and five years’ post-release supervision. Batchelor pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter on Feb. 27.
“More than two decades have passed since the defendant killed his neighbor, a 56-year-old woman who lived on the floor above him,” Clark said. “DNA taken from another crime he committed in 2017 connected him to the 1999 crime scene. The defendant believed he had gotten away with her killing, but in the end justice prevailed.”
According to the investigation, between May 25, 1999 and May 27, 1999, the defendant stabbed Elsa Grullon more than 20 times in the face, neck and chest with a knife while he raped her.
Grullon was discovered dead on May 27, 1999 by a family member. Batchelor was arrested and convicted in January 2016 for a minor crime and his DNA was taken.
In March 2016, the DNA was found to match the DNA recovered from the Grullon’s body. Batchelor was arrested February 27, 2017 for the death of Grullon. As part of the plea deal the rape charge was dismissed.
