James Keitt, a 58-year-old man, was found dead in his Brooklyn apartment on Sunday, May 28. A relative punched Keitt in the head during an altercation a few hours earlier before passing away, according to Daily News.
The police have ruled the man’s death a homicide after the first responders found him dead on the couch in the living room of his Elmira Loop, Pennsylvania Avenue home around 8 AM on Sunday. They saw that he was bruised around his right eye, and his wife informed them that he had gotten into a fight the previous day.
No arrests have been made in relation to Keitt’s death, but police announced that they were investigating the incident as a murder. The preliminary investigation surrounding Keitt’s death revealed a connection between the fight and his death, which led to a homicide ruling. Reportedly, Kiett was involved in the fight and soon after lying down on the couch and falling asleep. The following day, his wife found him dead in the same place where he went to bed the night before.
An anonymous neighbor of Kiett recalled the details surrounding the night of the fight to news outlets. The neighbor claimed to have heard the initial fight break out, “The night that it happened, [my teenage daughter] said there was a lot of banging on the walls. I was out that night. By the time the next day came, I just saw a bunch of cops.”
“[My daughter] heard yelling, she heard banging, cursing…she heard fighting.”
Another neighbor reflected on how sudden Kiett’s passing was. The neighbor, Craig, said, “He was nice! It’s sad that he’s gone.” He continued to share a word of advice for anyone who suffers a head injury.
“You never heard that old phrase they always say back in the day that if you ever get hurt or hit in the head, never go straight to bed? My family told me that.”
