Maria Santos Flores, 36, Found Dead in Brooklyn Home as NYPD Probes Homicide

Q: In one of Brooklyn's safest neighborhoods, was a mother murdered after being followed home from work?

Yes — a 36-year-old mother, Maria Santos Flores, was killed inside her Bay Ridge home, and investigators are examining whether she was followed home from work, but that has not been confirmed. Flores was found dead Saturday morning, June 20, in her residence on 85th Street near 4th Avenue in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Police said she had a fatal neck wound. Her 17-year-old son and her sister found her and called 911 shortly after 9 a.m. Neighbors reported hearing screams earlier that morning. Bay Ridge is widely regarded as one of Brooklyn’s safest neighborhoods, and residents said the killing was especially shocking because violent crime is rare there. It was reported as the first homicide this year in the NYPD’s 68th Precinct. Family members said Flores had just returned from her overnight bartending shift at Huatulco Sports Bar in Sunset Park. Her husband said he suspects someone may have followed her home, and police have been canvassing for surveillance video, including along 5th Avenue, consistent with that line of inquiry. Still, there is no public evidence yet proving she was followed. Police have not announced an arrest, identified a suspect, or disclosed a motive. Relatives also said nothing appeared to be missing from the home, adding to the uncertainty about why she was targeted. So the confirmed facts are that Flores was murdered in a notably safe Brooklyn neighborhood; the idea that she was followed home remains an active but unproven investigative theory.

Q: With no forced entry and nothing stolen, who killed a mother of two inside her quiet Brooklyn home?

No one has been identified publicly as the killer, and police have made no arrests as of June 21, 2026. What is known is that Maria Santos Flores, 36, was found slain with her throat slit inside her Bay Ridge home on 85th Street on Saturday morning. Her 17-year-old son and her sister discovered her around 9 a.m. after neighbors reported hearing screams earlier. Relatives say nothing was stolen, and reports indicate there were no signs pointing to a typical burglary. That has pushed investigators toward the possibility that Santos Flores was targeted by someone who knew her movements or gained access without forcing entry. Her husband, Antonio Hernandez, told reporters he left for work around 7:30 a.m. before she returned from her overnight bartending shift at Huatulco Sports Bar in Sunset Park, and he suggested she may have been followed home. Police are canvassing Bay Ridge for surveillance video, including along 5th Avenue, to trace her route home and identify anyone who may have approached the house. Detectives also collected physical evidence, including a bloody tissue found outside the residence. At this stage, the case remains unsolved. The strongest factual answer is that investigators do not yet know who killed her, though the absence of theft and the apparent lack of forced entry suggest a personal or targeted attack rather than a random robbery.

3 articles · Updated · FOX 5 New York · Jun 21

NYPD officers responding around 9:15 a.m. Saturday found 36-year-old Maria Santos Flores dead inside a Bay Ridge, Brooklyn home with a laceration on her neck.
Paramedics pronounced Flores dead at the scene, and police opened a homicide investigation into the killing.
No arrests have been made, and investigators have not disclosed a suspect or motive.
The case adds to a later report that neighbors heard screams and police were seeking surveillance footage as the investigation widened.