Police say a 55-year-old woman found dead in the basement of a Schenectady apartment house was the victim of a homicide.
The body of Valarie Washington was found Wednesday after police went to the building to check on the welfare of a resident. In the same basement, police found a man in his 60s who's also believed to be a resident there.
Police say the man was hit in the head with a shovel and left to die beneath several feet of junk including a tire, a toilet and heavy boxes. Police charged 44-year-old Harold Ortiz, who was released from prison in July, with attempted murder and unlawful imprisonment.
No charges have been filed in Washington's death.
Ortiz served 17 years in prison for a 1998 attempted murder in Brooklyn.
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