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In October of 2012, the beachside community of Far Rockaway, Queens was rocked by Hurricane Sandy, a devastating storm that claimed lives in eight countries after tearing through areas that included much of the eastern seaboard of the U.S.
Two weeks after the raging storm hit New York City, crews cleaning up debris on Far Rockaway beach found the body of a young Black man partially buried in the dunes.
“The body was bound by a piece of fabric below the knees and around the back,” Joe Zappia, a detective with the New York City Police Department’s 101 Precinct in Queens, told New York Homicide, which airs new episodes on Saturdays at 9/8c p.m. on Oxygen.
“He had over 12 blunt force traumas to his head,” Zappia added in the “A Hurricane of Deceit” episode. “It appeared that there were stab wounds and two slice marks on the victim’s wrists.”
Theory of a serial killer emerges in the case
Hours later on the same day, the body of another young man was found in Forest Park, which is also in Queens.
“His throat was slit, he had lacerations to his wrists and his hands were bound with zip ties,” said Bryan Kotowski, who was an Assistant District Attorney with the Queens County DA’s Office at the time.
The alarming discovery of two murder victims on the same day led investigators to consider the possibility of a serial killer.
Clues from Far Rockaway victim’s autopsy
The medical examiner determined that the cause of death for the man buried on the beach was trauma to the head, said Michael Naus, a now-retired detective with the 101 Precinct.
Post-mortem injuries indicated that the killer tried to sever the victim’s legs. Hairs found in the victim’s hand were found not to be human, suggesting that someone wearing a wig was involved.
A fingerprint lifted from the victim was processed. As police awaited results, there was a break in the second case on November 17. Detectives learned that 21-year-old Thomas Dudley had been abducted in Brooklyn.
Dudley’s description matched the body found in Forest Park. Investigators determined that Dudley’s murder by two men — Tramel Cuencas, 24, and Irving Gavin, 28 — was related to a dispute over drug money. There was no evidence to link his slaying to the body found on Rockaway Beach.
Detectives learned that the fingerprint that had been submitted from the victim found on the beach was a match for Shawn Rucker, 32, who was from Baltimore, Maryland.
Who was Shawn Rucker?
Rucker’s wife, Traci Rucker-Jones, said he was a man whose “smile could brighten any room.” They met in the fall of 2008 and married about nine months later.
A few weeks before Hurricane Sandy, Rucker came to New York for a business course that required him to be in the city for several months.
He was living in Far Rockaway with Tiana Baker, an acquaintance of his wife. Rucker-Jones heard from him the day after the storm, but then he stopped responding, according to New York Homicide.
“I was calling him on his phone, texting him, hitting him on Facebook,” said his best friend, Tyree Anderson. The fact that Rucker wasn’t getting back to loves ones was totally out of character for him.
Detectives interview Tiana Baker
Detectives interviewed Baker at the precinct. “She was wearing a wig,” said Naus. “Knowing about the black hairs found in Shawn’s hand, I’m thinking, ‘Was she a part of this?’”
Baker’s account wasn’t that Rucker came to New York to pursue a degree. “She told us that she met him in a chat room, and it was decided for him to come up and move to New York to establish a relationship,” said Naus.
The other people living in the residence were Baker’s young son, Nate, and another individual named Chantel, said Kotowski.
Shortly before the storm, Baker had invited Thyron Aycock, whom she’d met in Manhattan, to stay at her Far Rockaway residence. Police considered that a romantic triangle may have developed among Rucker, Baker and Aycock.
Tensions grew between Shawn Rucker and Thyron Aycock
“Tiana said that in the weeks since Thyron moved in, tensions between the two men were intensifying as they jockeyed for her affection,” said Robert K. Boyce, a former NYPD Chief of Detectives who now hosts New York Homicide.
After the storm, conflict in the house escalated further between the two men. Baker claimed that she, Nate and Chantel left the house for several hours. When they returned home, Rucker was gone, Baker said.
Police interviewed Chantel, who confirmed Baker’s account. At the same time, detectives learned that Aycock had an open parole warrant for failure to stay in contact with his parole officer.
Aycock claimed that Baker was essentially his wife, even though they had only met days ago, said Kotowski.
“He immediately admitted to the fact that he didn’t like Shawn,” Kotowski added. “His story was that he passed out on the couch and Shawn left.”
When Aycock asked for a lawyer, the interview about Rucker concluded. Police arrested Aycock for his parole warrant.
Police search residence where Shawn Rucker was living
At the Far Rockaway residence where Rucker was staying, police collected a kitchen knife, a saw, and a torn bed sheet as evidence.
The crime lab matched blood on the knife and the saw to Rucker. No other DNA was found on them. Detectives found no item that could have been used to cause the blunt force trauma that killed Rucker.
By August of 2015, almost three years after Rucker’s body was found, the case had gone cold. In 2019, Zappia reopened the case.
He reached out to Baker. “That’s when I said the cause of death was blunt force trauma,” he said. “She said to me, ‘I think I have something you might want. I have this hammer.’”
Zappia immediately collected the tool. The medical examiner determined that the hammer was definitely used in the murder of Rucker.
The floral print bed sheet that was used to bind Rucker was processed for DNA. The test was negative, but the torn strip was found to be an exact match to the print of the sheet that was collected at Baker’s home.
Thyron Aycock confesses murder to friend
On April 13, 2019, Aycock was released from prison for his parole violation. That’s when he confessed to killing Rucker to his longtime friend, Kristine Cann, who contacted Zappia.
As Zappia planned his next move, Aycock was arrested for domestic abuse of another woman and was sent to Rikers Island prison.
Cann knew that prison calls were recorded. She seized the opportunity to get him to admit to the details of Rucker’s murder on the record.
“I set him up,” said Cann, who became a criminal informant. She spoke on the record about her role in the case for the first time to New York Homicide. “I threw away a 25-year friendship, but I know I did the right thing.”
During the recorded call, Aycock admitted he wanted to “end” Rucker and talked about burying the body. “When I asked him about the fact that he cut Shawn up, he was laughing,” said Cann.
“When he started talking about all this on the phone,” said Zappia, “I was like, ‘I got him.’”
Baker finally admitted that she knew that Aycock had killed and mutilated Rucker. The district attorney agreed not to press charges in exchange for Baker’s testimony at trial.
Thyron Aycock arrested for Shawn Rucker’s murder
On October 22, 2019, Aycock was charged with Rucker’s murder. Baker testified that her relationship with Rucker wasn’t intimate, and that she had a romantic relationship with Aycock.
On February 10, 2022, Aycock was convicted. He was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
To learn more about the case, watch the “A Hurricane of Deceit” episode of New York Homicide, which airs news episodes on Saturdays at 9/8c p.m. on Oxygen.
