Five years after the bizarre rape and murder of a local female hip-hop artist, New York County District Attorney William V. Taylor announced yesterday the imminent prosecution of her alleged killer. The suspect is also under investigation for the deaths of at least 10 other New York state residents, Taylor said.
In a peculiar twist worthy of a television legal drama, suspect and Brooklyn resident Martin Grace, 56, is legally blind.
At a press conference held at his office at One Hogan Place, Taylor stated that Grace was now in police custody for the homicide of Tanya Gold, a once-rising star in New York’s music scene. The vocalist, best known for her 2001 debut album “Disease to Please,” was found dead in her Queens apartment in the spring of 2004. The brutality of her unsolved murder dominated local headlines for much of that year.
Taylor, famous for his no-nonsense press conferences, stated that Grace was “unquestionably linked” to Gold’s death. Citing police reports filed the day before her murder, the District Attorney revealed that Grace had “terrorized” Gold at the recording studio where he then worked. According to Taylor, the suspect cornered the woman after her recording session and said she would soon be “raped and ripped to shreds.”
“She filed a restraining order against Grace that day,” Taylor said at the conference. “But obviously, the man had no regard for the law, Gold’s wishes, or anything resembling decency. What he did was horrific. This dark monster will now be brought to justice.”
According to police reports, 21-year-old Gold was brutally murdered in her home on April 21, 2004. Details provided by New York Police stated Gold’s body had been ripped apart by “a homemade torture device.” Her limbs were pulled from her body by a complex rigging of ropes and pulleys. Forensic data indicated Gold had been raped after her death.
Yesterday, Taylor spent much of his time replying to reporters’ concerns regarding the suspect’s ability to effectively conduct the murder. Grace, who according to New York state records has moved residences eight times in the past 10 years, was not legally blind at the time of Gold’s murder, Taylor said.
Public records confirm this; Grace has been blind for two years.
“This man’s eyes were wide open during his travels, murdering not just Tanya Gold but many others,” Taylor said. Citing “critical prosecutorial secrecy,” Taylor would not reveal more information about how Grace was linked to the vocalist’s -- or others’ -- murders.
“As we move forward with this case, information will be revealed,” Taylor said. “We’ve dedicated considerable resources to the investigation of Tanya Gold’s death, and discovered Grace’s involvement there, as well as his decade-long, statewide reign of terror. It ends here and now.”
Marian Cannon, Grace’s public defense attorney, released a statement hours after Taylor’s announcement. “Martin Grace did not murder Gold or anyone else,” Cannon said. “The District Attorney’s case is based on innuendo and rumor. ... [Taylor’s evidence] is a house of cards: fragile, insubstantial and transparent.”
Representatives from Gold’s family could not be reached for comment.
