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Knife-Wielding Man Who Leapt Out Of Restaurant Freezer In NYC Linked To Cold Case Double Homicide In Boston

Carlton Henderson died on the floor of Sarabeth's on the Upper West Side, police said.

By Jon Silman

A man who jumped out of a walk-in freezer in a New York City restaurant holding a knife and yelling about the devil before he was subdued and died has been connected to a cold-case double homicide in Boston.

Carlton Henderson, 54, was hiding in the freezer of Sarabeth's on the Upper West Side around 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, according to WNBC in New York City. He burst out, police said, and shouted "Away from me, Satan!"

Then he grabbed a knife and started attacking employees, but they disarmed and subdued him. While he was on the floor, he went into cardiac arrest and died, police said. No one was hurt and no one knows why he was in the freezer in the first place.

Henderson was indicted in June of 2017 on two counts of murder for the 1998 deaths of Antonio Dos Reis, 22, and William Medina, 26, who were shot while sitting in a parked car in Boston, according to The New York Times.

Henderson was arrested in April of 2017 in St. Louis and was extradited to Boston to face the charges. He was released on bail on August 1 and was due back in court on August 14.

Henderson's lawyer spoke with the Times and said he was really surprised by what happened because Henderson didn't seem to have any mental issues.

“That’s very foreign to my experience with the guy, and I represented him for over a year and met with him many times,” John Amabile said. “My impression of him was that he was a very intelligent person who was very engaged as a client. I did not get the sense that he was psychotic or mentally ill or physically ill.”

Henderson was involved with a Boston drug ring, according to court records, and in 1992 he was convicted on drug and gun charges and sentenced to 188 months. A year later, he tried to make a deal with prosecutors to reduce his time.

He spoke with a U.S. Attorney for more than 8 months and gave information about all kinds of drug-related murders and trafficking operations, the Times reported.

Henderson got out of prison in 2005 and moved to Cave Creek, Arizona and started a business with his wife before ultimately being arrested and charged in the 1998 Boston murders. 

[Photo: St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department]

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