NYPD detectives are hoping surveillance footage of three men walking down a Bronx street will help them solve a two-year-old homicide case, police said Tuesday.
Cops have released video of the three men wanted for questioning in the Aug. 27, 2022, slaying of Maria Rosado.
“This is a great thing, because, hopefully, it’s just one step closer to catching that person that took the life of a mom, a sister, a friend,” Rosado’s childhood friend Rodney Byke told the Daily News on Tuesday. “This was a person that was just living their life … they got caught in something that was terrible.”
Rosado was driving a Honda CR-V past the corner of E. 170th St. and College Ave. around 12:20 a.m. when someone opened fire on the vehicle from the street.
The 37-year-old woman was shot in the head, cops said. Her 43-year-old boyfriend, who was in the passenger seat, was hit in the leg.
“Seeing the video, it’s like we have to relive the moment again two years ago,” Teresa, 40, another childhood friend of Rosado, told The News. “The wounds are not closed. They’re still open, because whoever did this is still out there living their life.”
Still-grieving Arlene Rosado, 36, Maria Rosado’s younger sister, insisted, “Somebody has to speak up. They killed her. All they did was take away a good person on this Earth, a beautiful mother. She was such a sweetheart.”
Two years ago, Rosado was about to make a left turn off E. 170th St. when the gunman let off a barrage of bullets, police and witnesses said.
The shot-up CR-V swerved into a van parked by the corner, then backed up 100 feet before mounting the curb and striking a tree, witnesses said.
EMS rushed Rosado to St. Barnabas Hospital, but she couldn’t be saved. Her boyfriend was treated at Lincoln Hospital and released.
The white Honda CR-V had at least two bullet holes in the passenger door. Cops recovered six shell casings from the corner, a police source with knowledge of the case said.
“We heard 20 shots or more,” a witness who identified himself as Alba told The News at the time.
Two years later, it’s still not clear why the gunman opened fire on Rosado and her boyfriend.
Rosado lived in Yonkers, about 10 miles from where she was shot. The shooting took place a block away from Claremont Park.
Byke had heard the gunman was aiming at Rosado’s boyfriend, who “just disappeared” after the shooting.
“I think she was just in love,” Byke said. “You hear people saying wrong place, wrong time. It’s just heartbreaking.”
Rosado’s younger sister and friend Teresa also believe the gunshots were meant for her boyfriend, who they say Rosado told them was physically and mentally abusive.
“At first she made him seem like he was such a sweet person,” Arlene Rosado said. “But then like months later he changed up and she was telling me a whole other story and how she was scared. She used to send me pictures and stuff. Black eyes, bruises, broken ribs, cracked ribs.”
“I believe they were trying to get whoever was in the car,” the younger sister added. “I just want whoever did this to her, to know that she was a victim herself of domestic violence. And whatever they did to her did not affect [her boyfriend] in the car with her one bit.”
Police scouring the area recovered surveillance footage of three men near the scene who either witnessed the shooting or participated in the killing.
Cops released the surveillance images in the hope someone recognizes one or more of the men.
“I guess we’re getting somewhere slowly. But now I just want justice,” Teresa said. “She’s not random. She’s somebody’s mother, somebody’s sister. She was loved by a lot of people.”
Rosado was the mother of two daughters, now 19 and 16, and a now-14-year-old son. She also had custody of and was caring for her younger brother, who is autistic and nonverbal. At the time of her death, Rosado was working as a medical biller at Jacobi Medical Center.
“At least it’s being put out there,” Rosado’s sister said about the video being released. “I’m grateful for anything. Anybody who can help,”
Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of the men wanted for questioning is urged to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.
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