This episode contains graphic descriptions of violence and may not be suitable for everyone.

Please be advised.

April 29th, 2011, was a Friday, a warm spring day.

Police officer Kelly Wheeler was working the 4-12 in the 6th precinct detective squad,

also known as the 6th squad. Around 9pm, she was at her desk when the phone rang.

It was the patrol supervisor asking her to come right away to Beth Israel Hospital.

An elderly man was recently taken in and they believed he might have been a victim of a crime.

When she walked into the victim's room, it was hard not to look away.

His face was swollen and bruised and bloody and it just, I mean, it was a horrible way to

meet somebody and try to compose yourself enough to ask the right questions and hope to get some answers.

I'm retired detective sergeant Wally Zions and this is Break in the Case, a podcast series written

and produced by NYPD Studios and supported by the New York City Police Foundation.

In this episode, detectives in the 6th squad investigate a series of assault and robbery cases

with elderly victims. It's a race against the clock to find the suspect before he strikes again,

coming up after the break.

Today, Detective Kelly Wheeler is retired, but in spring 2011, she was an investigator in training

in the 6th squad. She was an experienced officer with time on a street narcotics unit.

When she got pulled up stairs to the squad room, she felt like she had to prove herself all over

again. I came up into a squad that had seasoned people, what I have 10 years on and everybody else had

15 to 25, 30. I was like the baby, but I had really good people to learn from.

The 6th precinct covers Manhattan's historic vantage village from the High Line to Washington

Square Park. According to Wheeler, it's one of the best precincts to work in.

...