Cops: Harlem Man Found Dead in Airshaft Was A Homicide

A man found dead inside an airshaft in a Harlem building earlier this week was the victim of a homicide, cops said Thursday.

Derrick Sutton, 50, was found dead Wednesday morning. A resident spotted his body inside the airshaft, which runs between 1971 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd., and the next-door building, sources said.

On Thursday, the medical examiner’s office determined Sutton, who lived nearby, had been slain, cops said. The cause of death was not released. There were no arrests. Sutton had a history of drug-related crimes dating to 1989, police sources said.

Update: The super of the building called police after seeing the body in the air shaft of the west 119th street building. It was first thought the man was a burglar who fell while trying to break into an apartment, but an autopsy revealed that he had multiple gunshot wounds. The investigation into how the body ended up there is ongoing.