QUEENS, N.Y. — The New York City Police Department is renewing its call for information in a 25-year-old unsolved homicide after the death of Jeffrey Blackman was officially ruled a murder by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Blackman, 42, was discovered dead inside a parked Buick sedan near 70-89 Park Drive East in Queens around 5 a.m. on Tuesday, April 20, 1999. Officers had responded to a 911 call reporting an abandoned vehicle at the location. When police arrived, they found Blackman unconscious and unresponsive in the driver’s seat. EMS personnel pronounced him dead at the scene.
Key Points
- Jeffrey Blackman, 42, was found dead inside a car on Park Drive East in Queens on April 20, 1999.
- The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has officially ruled the death a homicide.
- NYPD is seeking public assistance in the decades-old investigation.
Medical examiner confirms long-suspected homicide
While the case remained open for decades, it was not until a recent determination by the medical examiner that the incident was officially classified as a homicide. Authorities have not released the cause of death or whether any suspects have been identified.
Blackman, a resident of 84-09 Talbot Street in Queens, had no reported criminal history and was not known to police at the time of his death. The vehicle he was found in was registered to him.
NYPD officials from the 107th Precinct are urging anyone with information about the case to come forward, as they continue efforts to resolve one of the borough’s long-standing cold cases.
Investigation ongoing as police renew appeal
The location where Blackman was found is a quiet residential block in Forest Hills, a neighborhood not commonly associated with violent crime. The circumstances surrounding how he came to be in the area, and what may have led to his death, remain unclear.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers hotline or visit the department’s website to submit tips anonymously.