In the spring of 2018, the life of 62-year-old Ana Del Valle, a Hispanic female, was brought to a tragic and violent end in her Brooklyn, New York apartment. On May 11, just two days before Mother's Day, Del Valle's daughter made the horrific discovery. She found her mother inside their home in the Bushwick Houses on Moore Street, bound and with a fatal gunshot wound to her head.
Del Valle had been a resident of the building for three decades and was known as an active member of her community.
The initial shock of this brutal crime was compounded just two days later. On May 13, the body of Del Valle's 54-year-old neighbor, Basil Gray, was found in his adjacent apartment. He had also been shot to death. Ballistic evidence quickly linked the two murders, revealing that the same weapon was used in both slayings. This discovery led investigators to believe the two cases were connected, though the nature of that connection was not immediately clear. Del Valle and Gray were described as friendly neighbors but not close associates.
Despite an intensive investigation by the NYPD and the FBI's Metro Safe Streets Task Force, the double homicide remains unsolved. Authorities have explored various motives, with one prevailing theory being that the killings may be connected to the local drug trade, although neither Del Valle nor Gray are believed to have been involved in such activities. Surveillance footage from the apartment building captured three individuals, bundled in clothing, pacing in the hallway around the time of the murders. These individuals have been identified as persons of interest, but no arrests have been made in the case.
In the years following the murders, law enforcement has continued to seek the public's help in bringing the perpetrator or perpetrators to justice. A substantial reward of up to $50,000 has been offered for information leading to an arrest. The brutal and seemingly senseless nature of Ana Del Valle's death has left her family and community devastated, waiting for answers and the closure that a resolution to the case would bring.
