Suspect in custody in murder of 64-year-old Upper East Side man

UPPER EAST SIDE, Manhattan (WABC) -- Police took a suspect into custody in the murder of a 64-year-old man killed inside his Upper East Side apartment.

So far, the suspect's identity has not yet been released.

Authorities responded to a building on East 83rd Street around 6 p.m. on Wednesday, and arriving officers found Kenneth Savinski unconscious and lying face down in the living room with a wound to the head.

Sources tell Eyewitness News the victim suffered a deep laceration to the forehead with blood splattered around the scene, and at first, police thought he possibly collapsed and hit his head.

However, nothing was found in the vicinity of the victim that would have caused the gash, and the Medical Examiner found signs of foul play, including blood elsewhere in the apartment.

On Thursday morning, police deemed his death a homicide.

Neighbors described the victim as a nice guy.

"He's just a good person," neighbor Charlie Franck said. "Even if somebody walked by, he would smile and say hello. I mean he was a man of God."

Franck said he saw Savinski at church every day and was struggling to understand the sudden, inexplicable loss.

"It kind of breaks my heart, going to or coming from church, he would always wave," Franck said. "I'll be missing him."

Police have not indicated if they have identified a possible motive.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).