Police have identified the man who was found dead in a Central Park playground on Monday morning.
NYPD officers announced the name of the victim, 37-year-old Ian Stapp, who was discovered by a Central Park Conservancy worker with multiple lacerations to his body inside of Heckscher Playground at around 8:35 a.m. on Dec 11.
Stapp was pronounced dead at the scene.
“Our detectives are currently conducting a thorough investigation, seeking possible witnesses and doing video canvass. As we continue to investigate this case,” NYPD Chief Ruel Stephenson said yesterday.
Cops at the scene confirmed that they had found a bloody knife in Stapp’s pocket, though it was not clear how the weapon got there. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is still working to determine Stapp’s cause of death.
“We have not made a full determination as to the cause of death,” Chief Stephenson said. “However, our preliminary theory and investigation indicates that his injuries could have been self-inflicted.”
If you or someone you love is suicidal, call the Suicide and Crisis Hotline at 988 immediately.
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