Neighbor Of Murdered UWS Woman Undergoing Psych Test: Reports

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — The neighbor considered a person of interest in the murder of 70-year-old Susan Trott on the Upper West Side is currently undergoing a psychiatric evaluation and is expected to be questioned by police, according to reports.

The woman — who has not been identified by the NYPD — is not yet in police custody but is considered the prime suspect in Trott's death, police sources told the Daily News. The NYPD is still investigating Trott's murder and may charge the female neighbor soon, sources told the News.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said this week that the NYPD believes "all the pieces of that puzzle are within that building," regarding Trott's murder. Police are investigating a possible relationship between Trott and the woman considered a person of interest, Shea said.

Around 4 a.m. Sunday, Susan Trott was found suffering a slash wound to the neck inside her apartment on West End Avenue and West 95th Street, police said. Officers responded to the building to check on Trott after a business associate called for a wellness check, police said.

An autopsy conducted Monday revealed that Trott's death was caused by the slash wound, Shea said.

Trott was well-known in her West End Avenue building and had both admirers and critics, the New York Times reported. The 70-year-old's habit of feeding neighborhood birds, sometimes at midnight, led to her being harassed by her neighbors who thought she was attracting rats to the building, the Times reported.

An Upper West Side residents who spoke to Trott often told the Times that the woman revealed she had been recently threatened.

"I told her, 'I can’t imagine people threatening you with bodily harm and threats,'" Upper West Sider Stephanie Lee told the Times.

Trott's murder marks the third on the Upper West Side this year, according to crime statistics from the NYPD's 20th and 24th precincts. All three murders have occurred within the confines of the 24th Precinct, which spans West 86th Street to West 110th Street.

There were just four murders reported on the Upper West Side in 2017, according to NYPD crime statistics.

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