UTICA — .George Garrow and his roommate had just spent Wednesday evening baking pies and sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving dinner when they heard a knock at the door of their Dudley Avenue apartment shortly before midnight.
Having only one leg, Garrow, 66, grabbed his crutch and made his way to the door. The roommate said he next overheard Garrow talking with what sounded like a man and a woman.
The unknown visitors then demanded money from Garrow, the roommate recalled, but Garrow refused.
Suddenly, shots rang out.
Moments later at 11:53 p.m., Garrow, a previously convicted sex offender, would be found dead in his first-floor doorway, said his roommate, who asked not to be named. Late Thursday night, his killer or killers remained at large, Utica police said.
When officers arrived, they said the smell of nutmeg and cinnamon still wafted through the air inside 1139 Dudley Ave.
While police officials did not dispute the roommates account of what happened, investigators spent the Thanksgiving holiday trying to piece together who might have killed Garrow, and for what reason.
I do know that there was a conversation at the door, and I do know that there were gunshots, Utica police Capt. James Watson said. That lends itself for us to believe that the victim may know the offender.
Garrow appeared to be shot in the head, according to the roommate, but police would not confirm where Garrow was shot on his body or how many times. Officials said an autopsy most likely will take place early next week.
Interviews conducted at the scene of the homicide earlier that morning offered few clues about the culprits, Watson said.
Based on the people weve spoken to, we need to do some follow-up interviews with people before we can even come remotely close to developing suspect information, Watson said.
Shortly after the shooting, area police agencies were put on alert for an older white jeep occupied by two men and two women that reportedly drove away from the scene north on Dudley Avenue toward Eagle Street.
He didn't deserve to die this way'
Several hours after Garrow was killed, his crutch remained propped up against the porch near the front door, which still was stained with blood.
For those who knew Garrow, it was those crutches and a mobilized wheelchair that they most often saw him use to move throughout the Cornhill neighborhood.
And although Garrow spent more than 15 years in prison for sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy in the late 1980s in Otsego County, his status as a registered Level 3 sex offender wasnt mentioned as they recalled their neighbor.
I was a good friend of his, neighbor Judith Torres said Thanksgiving Day afternoon in front of the first-floor apartment where Garrow was killed. He didnt deserve to die this way. God took a good man.
Despite having only one leg, Garrow still offered to cut lawns for his neighbors, while using one hand to push the mower and the other hand to balance himself on a crutch.
He also drove a tractor that towed a small trailer throughout the neighborhood to collect scrap metal that he would sell for cash, friends said.
Garrow, they said, enjoyed bird-watching in his backyard, where a row of leafy collard greens still grew in the ground Thursday as a reminder of Garrows love of gardening.
On his birthday, he would say God gave him another chance," Torres said.
Garrow did have a number of children that he hasnt talked to for years, according to the roommate, who has lived with Garrow since July.
But shortly before Garrow was killed, he had just spoken on the phone with a son he hadnt seen in about 14 years, the roommate said. Garrow also recently had made contact with another son living in Texas that he hasnt seen for nearly 30 years.
After the roommate was questioned by police until about 6 a.m. Thursday, he was not immediately allowed to go back inside his apartment because it was a crime scene.
Loading...
0:35
Shooting on Plant Streetby UticaDailyNews3,769 views
uuhi am really lonely any guys want to cam let me know
AllysonDrybrea56 1 year ago