Convicted sex offender held in NYC as a suspect in grisly murder of Miami Beach man

A man wanted as the prime suspect in the mutilation murder of a 77-year-old Miami Beach man was being held in New York City on Monday after a scuffle with a transit officer, Miami Beach police said Monday.

Nicholas Brent Gibson, a 32-year-old convicted sex offender, was wanted for the murder last month of Erik Stocker, 77. Police have released few details about the crime, but said Stocker’s body was in his apartment at 1508 Michigan Avenue for at least 10 days before neighbors notified police of a bad odor.

A source familiar with the investigation said it was an unusually gory scene and that Stocker was killed by some type of sword.

Miami Beach police were alerted to Stocker’s apartment on April 30. Miami Beach police spokesman Ernesto Rodriguez said Gibson was identified soon afterward and it was quickly discovered that he was also wanted by the U.S. Marshal’s service for failing to register as a sex offender in a case in Illinois that dates back more than a decade.

When detectives learned Gibson had traveled to New York City, they notified the New York Police Department and flew north to assist in the search for him. Gibson lived on Miami Beach, at least for a short while, according to police. A source familiar with the investigation said he had some type of agreement to care for the older man.

Gibson remained in New York awaiting extradition to South Florida. Rodriguez said in addition to the murder charge he is expected to face in Stocker’s death, Gibson will likely be charged with assaulting police officers during his arrest in New York on Sunday.

This story was originally published May 6, 2019 at 5:12 PM.