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By Hollie Silverman
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An investigation is underway after a woman in her 60s was found dead within New York City's Central Park on Sunday morning, according to the New York City Police Department (NYPD).
Officers responded to a 911 call reporting an unconscious person near East Drive and East 74th Street at approximately 9:43 a.m., a spokesperson for the NYPD told Newsweek over the phone on Sunday afternoon.
"Upon arrival, [officers] discovered an adult female in her 60s, unresponsive," the spokesperson added.
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While the spokesperson initially said the woman suffered stab wounds, the NYPD has since retracted that statement and said she had trauma to the head.
The New York Times reported that the woman's body was discovered inside a gazebo near the popular restaurant Central Park Boathouse.
Investigators did not say how long the woman may have been in the area before she was discovered and haven't indicated whether they believe the woman was targeted.
Jonathan Robles, 36, was arrested in connection with the death, officials announced late Sunday. Robles was arrested and charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon in connection with the death of the 63-year-old female victim, the NYPD said in an updated statement emailed to Newsweek on Monday.
The identity of the woman remains unreleased pending notification of next of kin. No information on the circumstances leading up to the death has been released by officials.
Newsweek reached out to the medical examiner on Sunday and the Manhattan District Attorney's Office via email Monday.
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Famous Central Park Cases
A fatal stabbing investigation in Central Park can draw significant attention given the park's status as one of New York City's most visited landmarks. According to the Times, citing the most recently available police data, there were no murders between January 1 and September 20, 2026, and no killings were reported last year during the same time period.
While violent incidents in the park are relatively rare, high-profile crimes there have historically attracted national scrutiny and prompted public safety concerns.
Among the most infamous incidents in Central Park was the 1989 assault and rape of a female jogger, a case that later became known as the Central Park Five.
Trisha Meili was found badly beaten and unconscious in Central Park on April 20, 1989, and required hospitalization to recover from her injuries. At the time, she had no memory of what happened to her while she was jogging in the park. It was later revealed that Meili had been tied, beaten with a rock and raped that night. She lost 75 percent of her blood by the time she was found.
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Five teenagers were initially convicted before being exonerated years later after DNA evidence and a confession from the actual perpetrator emerged. The case drew extensive media coverage and later documentaries.
Another notable case was the 1986 killing of Jennifer Levin, an 18-year-old woman whose death in Central Park led to the nationally followed prosecution of Robert Chambers, who became known as the "Preppy Killer."
The park has also occasionally been the site of other violent assaults and unsolved attacks, though homicides remain uncommon compared with the millions of annual visitors who pass through the park.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here.
Contact Newsweek editors for this story: Steve Mollman, Anthony Murray, Sam Wilson.
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