Bruce Blackwood's Killer Was Turned In By The Murderer's Very Own Daughter
On March 6, 2006, Bruce Blackwood, a 55-year-old New York City landlord went missing (per the New York Post). The Queens-based man uncharacteristically called his place of employment (where he was the manager of an Off-Site Betting establishment, per A&E) that day and said that he was unable to come in due to a head injury (via News Australia). Tragically, Blackwood was never seen or heard from again. Prior to his disappearance, he informed his friends that the handyman he hired for his property in Brooklyn was forging checks in his name. Blackwood planned to confront this person, who was later revealed to be Luis Perez.
A&E reports that Perez previously spent several years in prison for attempting to kidnap his daughter after trying to stab the girl's mother and a state trooper. Police questioned Perez about Blackwood's disappearance, he claimed that yes, he did see him the day he went missing. However, Perez explained that Blackwood gave him his car keys and got into a vehicle with a man referred to as "Mike" (via The Charley Project). Police did not buy his story, but due to a lack of physical evidence, they could only charge him with check forgery.
The Charley Project states that Perez would serve 25 months in prison for this crime. The case, per News Australia, went cold. That is until someone came forward and told police that they knew what had happened to Blackwood, who was still considered missing. That individual was none other than Perez's own daughter, Irene.
He told his daughter he got away with murder
According to A&E, Irene Perez contacted police in 2011 and told them that her father had indeed murdered Blackwood. She did not come empty-handed; she had a recording that proved that she was telling the truth. Although the recording was bad quality, investigators asked if she was willing to make another attempt at capturing his confession. Irene agreed and noted that her father incessantly discussed the murder and had no remorse for his actions. At the time, Perez was living with his daughter. This provided ample opportunity for him to divulge details of the crime to her.
Per News Australia, Irene decided to reach out to police when she saw news stories about the five-year anniversary of Blackwood's disappearance. Ultimately, Irene was able to record a plethora of incriminating statements from Perez. In conversations with his daughter, Perez admits that he killed Blackwood because his former boss uncovered that Perez was forging checks. Perez did not want to go back to prison and decided that killing Blackwood was his way out.
Perez also told his daughter, "It's not about committing the perfect crime — it's just about how well you clean it up." The Charley Project reports that Perez was arrested for Blackwood's murder in 2011. At his 2015 trial, Irene was called to testify against her father.
Bruce Blackwood's remains have never been found
In Irene's recordings, Perez revealed that he killed Blackwood by breaking his neck (via News Australia). He then dismembered the body using several tools, including a machete, meat cleaver, and the blade of a sawzall. Perez told his daughter in graphic detail how he did this and cleaned the crime scene. In one instance, Perez stated, "I would slice it like I was slicing a piece of chicken." According to the New York Post, Irene hesitated to testify against her father until she was granted immunity. It was later revealed that in a phone call from prison that Perez advised his daughter to say that she was threatened by police in order to "get out of this" (per News Australia).
Although News Australia reports that Blackwood's body was never recovered, other evidence points to Perez as the killer. The unusual phone call Blackwood made to his work on the day he went missing pinged in Brooklyn at the building where Perez worked. Blackwood, however, lived in Queens. Moreover, it's believed that Blackwood called into work because Perez threatened him to do so. The Charley Project explains that in 2015, Luis Perez was found guilty of Blackwood's murder and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Per The Cinemaholic, he is currently imprisoned at the Attica Correctional Facility in New York. He will not be eligible for parole until 2039.