Convicted Killer Found Beaten To Death At Home Years After Escaping Kidnapping

A convicted killer was found beaten to death at his apartment in Brooklyn last week, the police said Monday.

The police found the decomposing body of a 75-year-old man, Donald Wallace, at his residence in Coney Island on Feb.16, after responding to the report of a foul smell emanating from the scene. Investigators could not initially determine the exact cause of Wallace's death, but an autopsy later determined he suffered blunt force trauma to the head, the New York Daily News reported.

Investigators have ruled the death a homicide, but have not yet arrested any suspects. The apartment had no signs of breaking and entering or robbery, and the police believe Wallace was killed by someone he knew. The motive behind the killing is not known.

Wallace had served 20 years in prison on charges of robbing and murdering a person in the Bronx, and was paroled out in 1992. He later served three years for selling drugs and left prison on parole in 2009.

Seven years later, in December 2016, Wallace survived a stabbing incident during which he was kidnapped by two men to whom he owed money, the police said.

During the incident, the kidnappers reportedly drove Wallace to an ATM to withdraw money to repay their money. Since his card did not work at the machine, they took him to another machine. When he attempted to resist, he was robbed and stabbed in the head. However, Wallace eventually managed to escape, reports said.

Neighbors are shocked by Wallace's tragic death. "Shouldn't have died that way, because he was a very nice person, you could ask him for anything and he would give it to you, you know," his friend, Milagros Correa, told ABC News.

"Beautiful person, friendly, you know... talked to everybody, you know, would go to the store for everybody and everything, it's just a tragedy," another friend recollected.

In an unrelated incident a few months back, a convicted mother in Manhattan who murdered her 8-year-old autistic son was found dead hours after the U.S. Supreme Court revoked her bail. Investigators believe that Gigi Jordan, a 62-year-old pharmaceutical executive, reportedly killed herself after she was ordered back to jail.