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Home Health Care Attendant Finds Man Dead, Bound In East Harlem Home

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police were investigating Thursday night after a man was discovered dead inside his East Harlem home Thursday by a home health care attendant.

It was a gruesome scene at the 59-year-old victim's home on East 126th Street -- a secluded block surrounded by FDR Drive, a Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus depot and the exit ramp for the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge.

Home Health Care Attendant Finds Man Dead, Bound In East Harlem Home

The man was discovered on his bed with his hands and feet bound with a telephone cord and a towel wrapped around his neck, 1010 WINS' Carol D'Auria reported.

Neighbors, including Richard Rodriguez, had only nice things to say about the victim.

"He used to hang out on the corner, say hello to everybody. Very peaceful man. He doesn't mess with nobody. He was friendly with everybody," Rodriguez said.

"He's very friendly. He goes out of the apartment everyday, walks up and down the block; friendly with everyone," said Steven Goldman, who owns a nearby auto body shop.

Goldman added that he was just a "simple-minded guy."

The victim lived alone and the health care attendant went to the home regularly, D'Auria reported.

Neighbors speculated that perhaps because the victim was "a little slow," someone may have taken unfair advantage of him, D'Auria reported.

The police investigation was ongoing late Thursday.

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