MAN CHARGED WITH MURDERING A RETIRED INVESTMENT BANKER AND PHILANTHROPIST IN HIS MANSION IN THE RIVERDALE SECTION OF THE BRONX

Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced today that a 25-year-old Bronx man has been arrested and indicted for the murder of a wealthy retired investment banker in his mansion in Riverdale in April 1996.

Nikolaj Amann was charged by a grand jury with two counts of Murder in the 1st degree and three counts of Murder in the 2nd degree in the death of 83-year-old Alfred Hunt Howell who lived alone. The grand jury also charged Amann, of 3900 Greystone Avenue, Riverdale, with two counts of Robbery in the 1st degree, two counts of Burglary in the 1st degree, Criminal possession of stolen property in the 5th degree and Criminal possession of a weapon in the 4th degree.

Amann was arrested at an upstate prison where he was serving a 2 to 4 year sentence on a burglary conviction in Westchester County, New York. He was arraigned on the murder charges before State Supreme Court Justice Burton Roberts, Administrative Judge of Bronx Supreme Court.

The murder occurred on April 23, 1996 at Mr. Howell’s mansion on Palisade Avenue overlooking the Hudson River. Mr. Howell’s butler discovered the body in the victim’s bedroom the following morning. Although the body was found lying in a pool of blood, it was at first believed that the death was the result of natural causes, based on information obtained from the elderly victim’s private physician.

Investigators re-opened the case more than six months later as a result of information obtained by police in Harrison, New York where Amann was arrested on burglary charges. The New York City Medical Examiner later determined that the death was in fact a homicide based on a series of statements by the defendant and other evidence uncovered by detectives. According to the medical examiner the cause of death was "homicidal violence including laceration of the face". Amann, according to the indictment, "caused the death of Alfred Hunt Howell by striking him with a dangerous instrument".

Mr. Howell retired in 1972 from his position as a Citibank Vice President for pension fund investments and enrolled at Columbia University where he earned a PhD in history. Howell was a long time trustee of the Young Men’s Christian Association and had also served as President and Board Chairman. He also was a director and vice president of the Cleveland H. Dodge Foundation based in the Bronx.

Mr. Johnson said: "This victim’s life had such an impact for good on the lives of so many people that his death is a tragic loss for the community at large. Justice demands that the person responsible for this senseless murder be held accountable and severely punished."

Mr. Johnson thanked the Harrison, New York police for the information that led to the re-opening of the case by the Bronx District Attorney’s Office.

Mr. Johnson said Bronx D.A. Detective Investigators Frank Viggiano ( Deputy Chief) and John Tierney were relentless in their pursuit of this defendant during the course of the year and a half long investigation.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Antonio Castro, Deputy Chief of Homicide / Grand Jury Evaluation Bureau.