Vannie regular found dead with stab wounds

Two men were taking an evening jog heading north on Van Cortlandt Park’s Putnam Trail on June 27, when they found a dead man in the wooded area near hole No. 4 of the golf course.

The victim, 62-year-old Efijenio Deletorre, was found face down with stab wounds on his back, according to police and Community Board 8 sources, and was known for collecting lost golf balls and then selling them. 

“I see him walking around the golf course,” said a golf course employee. 

“He was attempting to sell to the golfers.”

No arrests have been made and police said there were no witnesses. Deputy Inspector Kevin Burke, commander of the 50th Precinct, said police have not been able to locate a homeless man — also known to have also collected golf balls near the course — who they believe may have been in competition with the victim. 

That individual has been identified as a “person of interest.”

Police said the victim, whose last known address was in Yonkers, is believed to be homeless or semi-homeless. He had 12 prior arrests, mostly for property crimes, police said. He served two years in state prison and four stints totaling a year in Westchester County jail system over the last 30 years but has not been arrested since 1996.

This was not the first murder victim to turn up the Van Cortlandt Park Golf Course.   

On Oct. 20, 2006 Norwood resident Aldrick Jarvis, 31, murdered his wife Jessica, 30, and their 4-year old son Jacob in the parking lot before turning the gun on himself.