A few details have emerged about the life of a 73-year-old man whose body was found in an east Denver trash bin, but much about his death, and how it may be related to the alleged kidnapping of a woman on the same day, is still unknown.
Gerald Schwartzman’s ex-wife, Maralyn Master, said Saturday he was well liked and that she, and others, are shocked that someone would do this to him.
“He was a wonderful man,” Master said. “He was very generous, he would give you his last dollar.”
On Friday Denver police announced that a man being held in connection with a carjacking in the parking lot of Cherry Creek Shopping Center Wednesday afternoon could also be charged with first-degree murder in Schwartzman’s death.
Schwartzman’s body was found about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in a trash bin in an alley between Grape and Hudson streets near East 13th Avenue. He died of a gunshot wound to the head.
William Lee Lornes, 24, was arrested early Thursday morning in Jefferson County after deputies found the car that had been stolen during the Denver carjacking.
Before moving to Denver in 2001 to be with family, Schwartzman lived in Woodstock and Kingston, N.Y.
Master, who said she was planning to visit Schwartzman in the spring, said he wrote poetry and enjoyed photography, hiking and being outdoors.
While police say they think the Denver carjacking and Schwartzman’s murder are connected, they have released no further details.
No information has been released about when Schwartzman was killed, whether Lornes knew the victims, how the two cases were linked and whether the victims were targeted.
Schwartzman was last seen at the King Soopers at East 13th Avenue and Krameria Street. His vehicle was found abandoned in the 5600 block of Leetsdale Drive.
On Wednesday afternoon in Denver a woman reported that she had been approached by a man at the Cherry Creek mall who held her at gunpoint and told her to get into the trunk of her car. She later escaped from the trunk while the car was stopped at an intersection and called police.
On Saturday, Nick LeMasters, the mall’s general manager, confirmed that the woman was a security guard at the mall. Whether the woman was in uniform was not immediately known.
The mall has increased security since the incident, LeMasters said, but he could not release any details.
As of Saturday evening, Lornes had not been transferred to Denver. Investigators will forward the case to the Denver district attorney’s office for formal charging.
In 2005, Lornes was sentenced to two years in prison for charges related to drugs, assault and auto theft, according to public records. In 2008, Lornes was charged with escape in connection with his previous sentence and ordered to serve an additional year.
Jordan Steffen: 303-954-1794 or jsteffen@denverpost.com
