Self-proclaimed “vigilante” Jennifer Espinal’s tireless digging to find her father’s killer ended Wednesday where the murder probe almost never started: The 103rd Precinct in Queens.
The daughter of murder victim Jorge Cornejo was outside the precinct Wednesday when prosecutors called to tell her the suspected murderer was under arrest.
“They caught him!” Espinal shouted.
The bust came nearly two weeks after Espinal was brushed off trying to convince a precinct lieutenant that her 76-year-old dad became a homicide victim on a Queens street corner. By Espinal’s recounting, the lieutenant claimed her dad died in an accident, and he wouldn’t file a crime report unless she got more evidence.
So she did.
Espinal, 45, returned to the crime scene at all hours of the day and night. She eventually tracked down a security video of the deadly incident in which the bearded, bare-chested assailant stomped out of a grocery store and randomly attacked the elderly Cornejo. The suspect then ran from the scene.
The suspect in the June 20 attack was identified by police Wednesday as Daniel Rodriguez, 45, of Queens. He’s charged with murder and assault in the bizarre attack that left Cornejo unconscious on the corner of Jamaica Ave. and 171st St. in Jamaica, where police discovered him around 11:30 p.m.
Cornejo died five days later at Jamaica Hospital. The death was finally declared a homicide last week by the medical examiner.
“It’s not going to bring my dad back, but I am so happy for the support,” said Espinal, who plans a New York Mets-themed picnic in celebration of her father’s life. “Everyone is going to be wearing Mets hats.”
The daughter, who works as a nurse, believed right away that her father’s injuries were inconsistent with an accidental fall. When the police lieutenant brushed off her suspicions, Espinal was inspired to start her own probe.
“He made me to be a vigilante,” she said of the lieutenant.
Espinal recounted how police finally gave credence to her claims of an assault after she tracked down the video and told investigators where to find it. One of the officers asked why she hadn’t reported the crime sooner, and she explained the prior encounter.
The NYPD said an “internal review” of the apparently botched investigation was underway. Images of the suspect were made public by cops on June 27.
Cornejo, an immigrant from Ecuador, worked for a circus in his homeland before arriving in the U.S. in his 20s. His son Jorge Jr. described his namesake as an “extremely hard working man.”
Espinal, rather than gloating over her successful investigation, was simply glad to learn the suspect was locked up.
“I am happy he is not going to be able to hurt someone else’s family,” she said. “I don’t know what demons he had that made him do this, but I hope he gets the help he needs.”
Espinal plans to attend the suspect’s court appearance, although the timing of the hearing remains unclear. Espinal said she will appear with a message of mercy for the accused murderer.
“I forgive him,” she said of the suspect. “I am not going to have hate in my heart. It’s not what my dad would have wanted. He never had hate in his heart.”
