In the quiet early morning hours of February 16, 2021, a grim discovery was made on the Palisades Parkway in Stony Point, New York. State troopers responded to a report of a vehicle fire near exit 16 and found a 2021 Hyundai Sonata completely engulfed in flames. After the blaze was extinguished, the body of a man, later identified as 35-year-old Ronald Mann of the Bronx, was found inside the charred vehicle.
An initial investigation by the Rockland County Medical Examiner's Office
revealed a sinister truth behind the fire; Mann had sustained a gunshot wound. His death was promptly ruled a homicide, launching a meticulous and lengthy investigation by the New York State Police. For three years, detectives worked to piece together the events that led to Mann's tragic and violent end, a case that puzzled authorities and left a community seeking answers.
A significant breakthrough in the case came on February 9, 2024, with the arrest of 36-year-old Robert Rodriguez of Stony Point. The extensive investigation alleges that on the evening of February 15, 2021, Rodriguez shot and killed Ronald Mann at his residence on Call Hollow Road in Haverstraw. Following the murder, Rodriguez allegedly placed Mann's body in the victim's own car and drove it to the Palisades Parkway. There, he is accused of parking the vehicle in a snowbank, dousing it with gasoline, and setting it on fire with Mann's body still inside before fleeing the scene.
Robert Rodriguez was subsequently indicted by a Rockland County Grand Jury and arraigned on multiple felony charges, including second-degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon, second-degree arson, tampering with physical evidence, and concealment of a human corpse. After his arrest, Rodriguez was remanded to the Rockland County Jail without bail. He later pleaded not guilty to the charges and was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation.
