In the first episode of Homicide: New York, a five-part Netflix docuseries, we saw how the NYPD officers shared their experiences regarding a 2001 murder case at Carnegie Deli involving a young woman’s death. In the second episode, we were introduced to the homicide case involving a middle-aged man’s death in 1997. A teen couple, Daphne Abdela and her then-boyfriend, Christopher Vazquez, were arrested for carrying out this heinous crime. In the third episode of the series, the NYPD detectives looked into another homicide case involving Eridania Rodriguez, a woman of color who was brutally tortured and killed inside a building on Two Rector Street. Let’s look into this episode to see how the detectives connected the dots and eventually brought the perpetrator of the crime to justice.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happened To Eridania Rodriguez?
On July 7, 2009, a 46-year-old woman named Eridania Rodriguez, who worked as a cleaning lady at Two Rector Street, went missing. Eridania, who was from San Francisco de Macoris, was married and had three children. She came from a joint family where her brothers and sisters were very close to her. She was almost seen as a matriarch in her family, according to her brother, who was devastated to lose his sister. Eridania’s daughter also appeared in the documentary, and on behalf of her entire family, she spoke about how grateful she had been to her mother.
After Eridania went missing, the detectives began to look into the building where she used to work. They asked around and found surveillance footage, but even though the footage showed Eridania’s entrance into the building, it didn’t show when she left. The detectives, led by Detective Brian and Dr. Al Titus, began to look into the building, thinking that she must be somewhere there and that something terrible might have happened to her. Finally, they got their hands on a clue, though it was nothing but a hair clip on the 8th floor. As the detectives didn’t find the hair clip to be very helpful in the investigation, they searched the entire building and found blood and residue coming out of a duct on the 12th floor. As the duct was opened, tragically, Eridania’s dead body was found in a very sorry state. Her dead body was hogtied, bound, and showed signs of torture. Someone had tortured her to death and then tied her up, dumping her body inside the duct.
Eridania didn’t seem to be someone who might have had any enemies, and even her family members struggled to come to terms with the situation. They were baffled because she was such a nice lady, and no one could possibly have had a motive to destroy her life like this.
How Did Joseph Pabon Get Caught?
A lead emerged during the murder investigation of Eridania Rodriguez. The detectives found a maintenance guy who worked in the same building, who was a dubious man with questionable behaviors. This man was Joseph Pabon, who had a history of violent behavior and abusing women in his past relationships. Probably, Pabon had gotten into an argument with Eridania, and, being unable to control his anger, he snapped at her.
It wasn’t very difficult for the detectives to find and gather evidence against Pabon, especially after knowing about his history. Pabon also had some scratches on his neck, which suggested that when he attacked Eridania and tried to kill her, she fought back for her life. Eridania’s dead body showed signs of her struggling during the attack, which was terrifying as well as heartbreaking to know. Even when the forensic experts delved deeper into the case, they found blood and pieces of skin under Eridania’s fingernails. The specimen was soon examined, and the DNA sample collected from Pabon matched the one found in Eridania’s nail beds. The detectives wasted no time ordering the arrest of Pabon, who had been traveling with his girlfriend during that time. When the detectives finally followed his trail and surrounded his car, Pabon emerged from it with his girlfriend. His girlfriend had no idea that she had been seeing a man who had a history of murder and criminal activities. The detectives felt relieved that they had not only found the culprit but had also saved another woman’s life, who’d probably become his next target.
Where Is Joseph Pabon Now?
Finally, Joseph Pabon was caught and brought into custody for further questioning. But the man never revealed his motive for killing Eridania. It is still a mystery if this man had any special relationship with the victim or if it was just a moment of rage that pushed him to commit such a heinous crime. Eridania’s brother couldn’t control his emotions while sharing his experiences after Pabon’s arrest. He held himself back from confronting the criminal and beating him up for what he had done to his family. Pabon, however, was not at all ashamed of what he had done, which suggested that he might have committed this murder very intentionally. After his arrest, when he was brought to court, he even looked at Eridania’s family and smiled at them, which is even more frustrating to imagine. Eridania’s family still don’t know why why Eridania became the victim of such a heinous act, and it kept bugging them even though the culprit was brought to justice. Joseph Pabon’s final court trial took place in 2004, and he was declared guilty for killing Eridania Rodriguez. He was given a 25-year prison sentence, and he is still in prison, serving his sentence.
Dr. Al Titus, who was then a detective inspector working for the NYPD, earned a doctorate. For Titus, this case carried great significance because somehow he could relate to Eridania’s family as he also lost his mother and could feel how the absence of a mother sadly affects someone in the family. Titus continues his work in murder investigation, but now he has become an educator who tries to pave the way for his students, teaching them honesty, hard work, and perseverance in this particular field.
