A man has been accused of sexually assaulting a dead body on the New York City subway after a male passenger suddenly died.
The alleged assault happened on an R train at Whitehall Street subway station around 11.45pm on Tuesday, police sources said.
The NYPD is now hunting for the man, who fled the station shortly after midnight. He is described as having black hair and brown eyes, being 5ft 9in tall, having a goatee and wearing a yellow hoodie and blue LA Dodgers baseball cap.
Investigators identified a man, 56, living in the Bronx as a person of interest and issued a photo of him, but did not name.
He lives with his brother, who told the New York Post the man is a heroin addict and was released from prison a few months ago.
But he said his brother wasn’t ‘like that’, adding that he doesn’t believe his brother carried out the sex act he is accused of.
The deceased male passenger, who has not yet been identified, is believed to have died of natural causes, sources said.
Police don’t believe the alleged perpetrator and the dead man knew each other.
The deceased passenger, who boarded the train around 8pm, reportedly passed out after smoking a cigarette he had been handed by a woman.
Officers are looking to speak to the unidentified woman, who allegedly looked through the man’s pockets after he lost consciousness.
She is described as wearing a yellow hoodie, black pants and a black baseball cap.
The alleged sexual assault unfolded when the alleged perpetrator got on the R train about three hours later, first making contact with the deceased around 11.20pm before allegedly assaulting him 25 minutes later.
CCTV footage seen by police reportedly shows the 56-year-old man having sex with the corpse.
Anyone with information regarding the alleged assault is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline or submit tips via the Crimestoppers website at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X @NYPDTips.