Neighbors were shocked along West 12 Street to news that a beloved neighbor had died.
Joseph Sibilla, 83, had been in the hospital since last month because of severe injuries suffered during a brutal beating and robbery inside his Greenwich Village apartment.
Surveillance cameras captured rhe suspect calmly walking away from the crime scene, carrying Sibilla's wallet. He is described as a thinly-built man about 5-foot-7. He was last seen wearing a dark-colored coat and a blue and green baseball cap.
Sibilla is described as a man who was interested in everything. Neighbors say he did not let age, or his walker, get in the way of living a full life.
"When I heard about the mugging and the attack it-it was like - This guy, if you pushed him with one finger he would have fallen down. He was so frail, so why anybody needed to beat him up? Christina Britton Conroy said.
Conroy served with Sibilla in a church group that performs at local senior centers. She says though he used a walker. It never stopped him from participating, or from offering help when and where needed.
"Joe was the kind of guy you want everybody in the world to be," Britton said.
Police were back on west 12th Street on Wednesday talking to neighbors, canvassing the scene, trying to determine how Sibilla's killer got into his first floor apartment, where he'd lived alone since his wife died two years ago.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
You can also submit your tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting your tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and then entering TIP577.
