Body found in Kissena Park in Queens identified as 17-year-old Andy Peralta
CORONA, Queens (WABC) -- A grief stricken father is speaking out after learning his teenage son was found murdered in a Queens Park earlier this week, all while police search for those who committed this crime.
Andy Peralta's father said his son was being threatened by kids at his school and at one point didn't want to leave the house, but the family never expected the worst. Until the 17-year-old was found strangled in Kissena Park.
Edgar Peralta's pain runs deep, his heart breaking as he speaks about his son.
"My only hope is that they catch him," he said in Spanish. "I'm not God, but I hope they punish them because they did something bad. I hope they catch them."
His mother also broke down as she described the moment she identified her son's body at the morgue.
"I went to identify him," she said, crying. "I saw my son's face. It was horrible."
Police say Andy Peralta's body was discovered in the park Tuesday early afternoon. Investigators said he suffered head trauma and was strangled, and his pants were pulled down.
News of his death spread quickly and rocked the quiet street in Corona. He was a kid who came to this country three years ago from Ecuador, and he wanted to study and make a name for himself.
Neighbors said he was a nice, quiet boy, for the most part, but his father said he had enemies.
"My son was doing well, but he did not want to go out because he was afraid of something," he said. "He never told me.'
He says kids at his son's high school threatened to kill him, adding the teen was afraid of something.
But they won't know the exact answer to that now, and they will leave it to the investigators to find out who took their son's life.
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