The discovery of Jorge Gonzalez’s lifeless body on a Manhattan subway train was a tragedy that shook his estranged wife, Maria, to her core. Gonzalez, a 37-year-old father who had battled alcoholism and cirrhosis, boarded a southbound R train around 8 p.m. on April 9, 2025, likely unaware that his final moments would unfold in such a public yet solitary setting. By midnight, he was gone, his death later attributed to natural causes by the New York City Police Department. What followed was an act so depraved it stunned a city accustomed to the unpredictable undercurrents of its transit system: a man, later identified as Felix Rojas, allegedly violated Gonzalez’s corpse, an act captured in chilling detail by the train’s surveillance cameras. This incident, now etched into New York’s recent history, has reignited debates about safety, mental health, and the unseen vulnerabilities of life in the nation’s largest subway system.
Felix Rojas, a 44-year-old Brooklyn resident, was arrested on Sunday, April 27, 2025, and charged with first-degree rape, more than two weeks after the incident at the Whitehall Street-South Ferry station in Lower Manhattan’s Financial District. According to police, Rojas entered the R train around 11 p.m. on April 9 and spent roughly 45 minutes in the car before noticing Gonzalez’s body. Authorities say Rojas rummaged through the deceased man’s pockets, taking whatever belongings he found, before committing the sexual assault. The train car, idling at the end of its line, was empty of other passengers, leaving the act undetected until an MTA conductor found Gonzalez’s body around 12:30 a.m. Rojas had fled the scene by then, exiting the train at approximately 12:10 a.m., police said. The surveillance footage, made possible by cameras installed systemwide by December 2024, became the linchpin in identifying Rojas, whose image was released to the public as part of a manhunt. He surrendered to authorities at the 1st Precinct stationhouse in Lower Manhattan, accompanied by his son, and was arraigned on Monday, April 28. Efforts to contact Rojas or confirm whether he has legal representation have been unsuccessful.
The incident has left New Yorkers grappling with a mix of revulsion and sorrow. Gonzalez, described by his estranged wife as a hardworking man who once supported his family in Mexico through jobs in construction and restaurants, had fallen into a downward spiral fueled by addiction. His death, while ruled natural, remains shrouded in mystery, with the city’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner unable to pinpoint an exact cause. Maria Gonzalez told reporters she was devastated to learn of the violation, a final indignity to a man who had already suffered greatly. The case also drew attention to a second individual, a woman, who allegedly robbed Gonzalez’s body minutes after Rojas left, further compounding the tragedy. Police are still seeking her for questioning.
Rojas, a father of three with no prior criminal record or listing on the state’s sex offender registry, was known to neighbors in Brooklyn’s Bensonhurst neighborhood as a quiet, churchgoing family man. Angie Sofikitis, a 77-year-old resident of the building next to Rojas’s former home on 79th Street, recalled him as a maintenance worker who lived on the block for years before moving out about a year ago. “He seemed normal, always with his family,” she said, echoing the shock of others who struggled to reconcile the allegations with the man they knew. The absence of a criminal history has raised questions about what drove Rojas to such an extreme act, with some speculating about untreated mental health issues, though no official motive has been disclosed.
This incident arrives at a time when New York City’s subway system, a lifeline for millions, is under intense scrutiny. Despite police reports of an 18 percent drop in major crimes like robberies and felony assaults in the first quarter of 2025—the second-lowest level in nearly three decades—high-profile incidents continue to shape public perception. The December 2024 killing of Debrina Kawam, a 57-year-old woman set on fire while sleeping on a Brooklyn train, and other violent episodes have fueled fears that the subway remains a volatile space. Mayor Eric Adams has emphasized increased police presence and advanced surveillance, yet cases like this highlight the challenges of preventing rare but shocking acts. The NYPD’s release of Rojas’s image through its Crime Stoppers program, coupled with tips from the public, underscores the critical role of community cooperation in resolving such cases.
As the city mourns Gonzalez and grapples with the horror of what transpired, the incident serves as a grim reminder of the fragility of life in shared public spaces. For Maria Gonzalez, the pain of her husband’s loss is now inseparable from the outrage of his desecration. For New Yorkers, it’s a call to confront the deeper issues—addiction, mental health, and safety—that linger beneath the surface of their daily commutes. Rojas’s arraignment marks the beginning of a legal process that will seek justice, but for a grieving family and a shaken city, the scars of April 9 will not easily fade.