A 51-year-old Brooklyn man who died three months after he was hospitalized, complaining of a severe headache, was murdered, police said yesterday.
An autopsy revealed that Roy Lucas, a popular handyman in his East New York neighborhood, died from of blunt-force trauma to the head, said relatives.
The medical examiner ruled Friday that Lucas’ death was a homicide.
“He wasn’t sick,” said Lucas’ ex-wife, Annie, 51. “This is a man who loved peace. Everyone loved him. If he sees a fight, he walks away. We want this person to be found.”
Lucas, who was the superintendent of the building where he lived at 321 Milford Ave., was admitted to Brookdale Hospital on Nov. 20, after complaining of a headache that wouldn’t go away.
Doctors found swelling in his brain and operated in hope of correcting his condition, relatives said.
Jerry Lucas, 34, said that after the operation, his older brother slipped into a coma and never regained consciousness.
Roy Lucas died Feb. 13.
“This has got the family twisted up. We can’t accept that he’s gone,” he said.
He said his brother reportedly told a nurse that he had been “assaulted” on New Lots Avenue and Hendrix Street, where he had set up a table to sell CDs.
But his brother didn’t provide details and it was not known if the incident was ever reported to cops, Jerry Lucas said.