In a grim turn of events in The Bronx, 45-year-old Cindy Maxwell was found dead in her apartment, exhibiting gunshot wounds and in a state of decomposition. The distressing discovery was made on a Saturday afternoon at the Parkside Houses on Arnow Avenue near Barker Avenue in Allerton.
Disturbed Neighbor’s Alert
At around 3:50 PM, authorities were alerted by a concerned downstairs neighbor who noticed an overpowering and unsettling odor. “It smelled like 200 dead rats up there,” said the neighbor, who preferred to remain anonymous. “The moment I stepped out of the elevator, there was this really foul smell. I had to locate that smell, and so I called it in.”
Upon responding, officers found Maxwell lying face-up inside her apartment. “She was sprawled in the living room with gunshot wounds on her body,” the downstairs neighbor elaborated. “She was decomposing. Her body was swollen.”
Missed Alarm
Interestingly, another resident of the building reported hearing four gunshots on a Wednesday. However, police were led to a different building within the apartment complex, possibly due to the way sound echoed within the housing development. “I know what a dead body smells like, and I just trusted my gut. I called the police for a welfare check on that apartment,” the resident stated. “No one has come since the shooting. I thought, ‘I’m fed up with this, and it has been smelling like this for two days.'”
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Cindy Maxwell: A Glimpse into Her Life
Maxwell, remembered fondly by friends and neighbors, worked as a home assistant, as reported by a close friend, Marta Medina, to the Daily News. “She was a good person,” Medina, 50, recalled. “She lived in the building for a long time and had two daughters. One I believe, was 11 and the other around 6.” The whereabouts and custody of the children in the wake of this tragedy remain uncertain.
Medina expressed her shock, recounting a recent interaction with Maxwell. “It really surprised me,” Medina said. “She did me a favor last week. She gave me a can of spaghetti sauce… I don’t know anyone who would do this to her.”
The Broader Picture
This heart-wrenching incident marks the fourth murder in The Bronx’s District 49 for 2023. The district witnessed nine violent deaths in 2022, according to New York Police Department statistics. As of now, no arrests have been made in connection with Maxwell’s death.