In a case of deadly jealousy, 55-year-old Jonathan Blake of Mount Vernon, New York, was murdered on March 13, 2020. His life was cut short by a man who had been stalking him for months due to a romantic rivalry. The man responsible for his death, Derek Whitaker, 58, of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, ambushed Blake in the early morning hours in Yonkers, fatally shooting him in the head.
Following the murder, Whitaker transported Blake's body to the basement of a Bedford-Stuyvesant
apartment building where he worked as the superintendent. In a gruesome attempt to cover up his crime, Whitaker tried to burn Blake's remains three days later, on March 16, 2020. A resident of the building noticed smoke and discovered Whitaker in the basement standing over a barrel containing Blake's body, with his legs visibly sticking out. The resident immediately alerted the building manager, who then contacted the authorities.
The subsequent police investigation revealed the sinister connection between the two men. In a particularly chilling detail, it was discovered that in the days between the murder and the attempted cremation of the body, Whitaker had attended a church service with Blake's family, even sitting in the victim's usual seat and embracing his brother.
Derek Whitaker was arrested and, following a jury trial, was convicted on June 16, 2023, of second-degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon, arson, tampering with physical evidence, and concealment of a human corpse. He was subsequently sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the murder of Jonathan Blake.
