After two men were found dead in the same creek after attending a Brooklyn concert venue, speculation has swirled as to whether the two are connected.
Police said 27-year-old John Castic was last seen after leaving The Brooklyn Mirage club around 3am on 29 July.
On 1 August, just days after he vanished, the Goldman Sachs staffer was pulled from Newtown Creek, a waterway near the venue.
Shockingly, Castic wasn’t the only young man who this had happened to in recent weeks. Psychologist Karl Clemente, also 27, vanished from the same music venue on 11 June. His body was found on 16 June in Newtown Creek.
The Independent has reached out to the venue for comment.
Are the two deaths connected?
The NYPD told The Independent the deaths have not been linked, adding that the investigations are active and ongoing.
After reports of Castic’s death, Clemente’s father, Alex Clemente, speculated to Fox News: “There’s something weird here. There might be some connection.”
Some social media users pointed out that Brooklyn Mirage has little to no service inside, making it difficult to call for help or find friends if lost.
Who is John Castic?
Castic’s friend posted on Reddit, saying he went missing around 2.30am on 29 July after attending a midnight show at The Brooklyn Mirage. He added that Castic was “last seen wearing a navy and white button down shirt.”
Around 11am on 1 August, a man called 911 after seeing a “bloated, shirtless body floating face-down” in a branch of the East River tributary, according to The New York Post.
NYPD sources told the outlet that the body, aside from drowning, had no obvious signs of trauma. Police later identified the body as John Castic, who was originally from Illinois.
His friend, Sara Kostecka, described Castic to the Post as “very charismatic, high-energy with a good sense of humor,” adding, “Whatever happened, he did not deserve this.”
“He was so smart but, in the end, he did something dumb, and it cost him,” Jeffrey Castic, his father, told Fox News. “We think he might have been impaired, we do not know, and it was just a lapse of judgment.”
He told the outlet his death was caused by “misadventure,” explaining that his wallet and phone were found when his body was recovered.
Who is Karl Clemente?
Karl Clemente turned up at the venue on 11 June, but was turned away because staffers said he had been drinking, his father told Fox News. The exchange reportedly occurred around 10pm.
Video surveillance obtained by the outlet showed Clemente walking toward a nearby gas station, while other footage allegedly showed Clemente running down Metropolitan Avenue moments later.
“Why was he running?” his father told the publication. “Someone was chasing him. There’s something fishy here.”
Clemente’s wallet and phone were not recovered with his body.
A GoFundMe shows more than $28,000 was raised for his funeral services, accompanied by an outpouring of support and condolences.
The Brooklyn Mirage
The music venue is located in Bushwick, Brooklyn, in a manufacturing zone.
“This is really heartbreaking,” said Councilmember Jennifer Gutiérrez, whose district includes the music venue and the creek.
“This is why we need to do more in our manufacturing zones,” she added, warning of the area’s lack of lighting and scarce cell phone service. A former employee at The Brooklyn Mirage said there are a lot of dead zones for cell service inside the building.
She said the area is intended for “manufacturing purposes,” so it’s not ideal for nightlife. However, the councilmember said, “If people are here, we need to figure out how to make it safer for folks.”
On top of this, Ms Gutiérrez continued, the closest subway station is not that close—it’s an 11 minute walk away, according to Google Maps—and noted the nearby Metropolitan Avenue Bridge, which is “too easy” for someone to fall or be pushed into. The bridge spans Newtown Creek, where both bodies were found.
She said that a venue representative told her that the bridge’s video camera was not working over the weekend.
The venue also reportedly told the councilmember that it used to have extra security beyond just inside the arena itself. When it opened, according to Ms Gutiérrez, the security used to stand on the route to the nearest train stop to prevent concertgoers from wandering around in the manufacturing district, but due to expenses, the venue stopped providing that service.
She said she doesn’t want there to be a “trend” for people to come to her district “not feeling safe.” The councilmember noted that both men were alone at the end of the night; she advised people who attend the area’s music venues to come with friends—“especially friends with different phone carriers.”
In a statement on Wednesday, Avant Gardner — the outdoor complex that includes The Brooklyn Mirage — wrote, “Avant Gardner is in communication with the authorities and is assisting with the investigation. We take the safety of our patrons extremely seriously. Our thoughts are with the family and friends during this difficult time.”
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