Convicted killer roommate found dead by suicide in Brooklyn apartment: authorities
A man who made headlines 20 years ago by brutally murdering his roommate was found dead by suicide in his Brooklyn apartment earlier this week, according to authorities.
Howard Goldstein, 67, was discovered unresponsive with a zip tie around his neck during a wellness check, conducted by Chaveirim on Jan 27.
Goldstein’s employer called for the wellness check that was conducted by the Orthodox Jewish volunteer organization.
When he was found unresponsive, Chaveirim called Jewish emergency responders Hatzalah, who arrived on scene and promptly called the NYPD.
He was pronounced dead at the scene. The Medical Examiner’s Office has ruled his death a suicide
The 24th Street former residence of Goldstein is blurred out from Google Maps — something that can be done upon request.
That stand-alone house is just blocks from the 19th Street apartment where Goldstein was arrested for killing his roommate with a blunt object.
In 2004, Goldstein, an Orthodox Jew, made headlines for being a crossdressing, porn and religion obsessed, “wacko” who beat his elderly roommate and landlord to death in a dispute over rent.
When cops at the time came looking for the missing 75-year-old Rahamin “Raymond” Sultan — Goldstein opened the Midwood apartment door to greet cops wearing high heels, makeup, and lipstick — while Sultan’s corpse rotted in a pool of blood on the living room floor.
In Goldstein’s then bedroom, cops found a mix of pornographic pictures and portraits of Rabbi Menachem Schneerson — leader of the Lubavitch sect — plastered all over the walls.
The convicted killer’s room was then filled with religious books, horror movies, and Vietnam War-era photographs and leaflets about POWs.
Neighbors at the time said Goldstein would appear in public as a traditional Orthodox Jewish man —- but occasionally walk around with painted eyebrows.
Goldstein was convicted of manslaughter in the first degree and served a prison sentence from 2006 to 2021 and was then released on parole, according to state Department of Corrections records. That parole period ended last year.
