Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of assault and murder. Reader discretion is advised.
“Vanishing on Wall Street” is an episode of Netflix’s Homicide: New York that follows the disappearance of a 46-year-old mother, Eridania Rodriguez, and the subsequent conviction of her killer, Joseph Pabon.
According to the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, Pabon is currently 40 years old and is serving his sentence of 25 years to life at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, New York. He was an elevator operator in the Lower Manhattan office building where Eridania Rodriguez worked. Pabon was found guilty of murder and was sentenced to prison. He will be eligible for parole in 2034.
Eridania Rodriguez was reported missing after she didn’t show up for dinner with her co-workers on July 7, 2009. She was on cleaning duty and was last seen in surveillance footage between 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. while she pushed her cleaning cart into the elevators. Four days after the investigation began, police found a pool of blood under the duct system, which was still under construction. They then found that her body had been dumped in the ventilation shaft, ABC 7 and The New York Times reported. The elevator operator, Joseph Pabon, was subsequently arrested.
An autopsy revealed that Eridania Rodriguez died of asphyxiation. The New York Times stated that she was discovered bound and gagged with duct tape, which led to the asphyxia. Moreover, she was on her knees and was facing down when the police found her. Joseph Pabon’s DNA was found in her fingernails, revealing signs of struggle before her death. This piece of evidence made him an important suspect in the case.
What was Joseph Pabon convicted of?
The court convicted Joseph Pabon of first-degree kidnapping and second-degree murder although the motive was not clearly established. His defense argued that the DNA could have been from routine work at the office, NBC News reported. The lawyer stated that Pabon went home early on the day of the murder because he had a stomach virus and couldn’t work for long.
On the other hand, the prosecution argued that Joseph Pabon followed Eridania Rodriguez to the eighth floor of the 26-story building, where he bound and gagged her. The floor was reportedly empty. He then took her body to the twelfth floor in the elevator and dumped her in the air-conditioning duct. The New York Times reported that Pabon had a history of violence and that the incident didn’t occur without warning signs.
His first wife reported that he had “anger issues” and behaved violently towards her. The outlet reported that his then-current wife also experienced repeated violent threats, which were recorded on the Rikers Island telephone. Per ABC 30, the court concluded that Pabon kidnapped Eridania Rodriguez while she was on cleaning duty and smothered her. He then covered her face and head with duct tape, which led to her death.
The Homicide: New York episode “Vanishing on Wall Street” is the third episode of the true crime docuseries. It is currently streaming on Netflix.
