A 59-year-old Bay Ridge woman was found with head injuries inside her 79th Street apartment, taken to a hospital and declared dead there. Her husband, Mauricio Granda, 47, now faces a murder charge, and the case has stunned a neighborhood already grappling with a separate unsolved killing from earlier this year.
A Murder Charge and an Arrest
Granda has been charged with murder in his wife's death, according to World Journal. Maria was found with head injuries inside the apartment on 79th Street between Third and Fourth avenues, then taken to a hospital and declared dead there. The wellness check came after Maria failed to show up for her job on Monday morning, prompting her son, Fortino Vasquez, to begin searching for her, per the same World Journal account.
The wellness check came after Maria failed to show up for her job on Monday morning, prompting her son, Fortino Vasquez, to begin searching for her, per the same World Journal account. Vasquez, who is Granda's stepson, eventually located his stepfather near a former Sunset Park residence at 52nd Street and Seventh Avenue. He used his own vehicle to block Granda inside Maria's car while calling NYPD detectives, the report states, a maneuver that led directly to police taking Granda into custody.
A Teacher Remembered for Decades in Head Start Classrooms
Maria Ines Granda was a Mexican immigrant who earned U.S. citizenship and spent years teaching in New York City's public Head Start pre-kindergarten program, the World Journal reports. She completed her GED and attended Touro College before entering early childhood education, according to the same account, building a career devoted to the city's youngest students.
The Bay Ridge nonprofit The Healing Center supports families impacted by abuse, domestic violence and sexual assault.
City Councilmember Kayla Santosuosso said Maria Ines Granda was a pre-K teacher and a valued member of the Bay Ridge community, and she expressed support for the family, students and loved ones left behind. The tributes reflect how deeply embedded Granda was in the neighborhood she served for years.
Echoes of an Unsolved Killing Just Months Earlier
The June 2026 killing of 36-year-old mother of two Maria Santos Flores drew attention to another unsolved Bay Ridge case. She was found slain with a severed throat inside her Bay Ridge home on 85th Street near Fourth Avenue on June 20, according to News 12 Brooklyn. Santos Flores had worked as a bartender in neighboring Sunset Park before her death, the station reported. More than a month later, NYPD detectives identified 43-year-old Misael Cruz as the primary suspect in that case and released his photo publicly while seeking leads, per the same News 12 Brooklyn report.
Missing Pet Adds to Family's Anguish
Granda was seen leaving the apartment building with the couple's goldendoodle, named Canelo, who remained missing at the time of his arrest, World Journal reported. Vasquez appealed for help locating the dog, adding another unresolved thread to a case still unfolding in court.
Granda faces a charge of murder in the second degree, a Class A-I felony under New York Penal Law § 125.25. The Marwaha Law Group says a conviction ordinarily carries a sentence ranging from 15 years to life up to 25 years to life in state prison, while a conviction under subdivision 5 carries mandatory life imprisonment without parole. The firm describes second-degree murder as a broad default charge encompassing multiple theories, including depraved-indifference murder and felony murder.
Neighborhood Policing and Oversight
The 68th Precinct, located on 65th Street, serves Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights and maintains a dedicated Domestic Violence Squad as part of its public safety operations across southwestern Brooklyn, according to NYPD station records.
