Woman, 60, found dead in NYC apartment was killed, ex is in custody: cops

The lifeless body of a former public relations exec was found in her Brooklyn apartment this week — and her 62-year-old ex-boyfriend has been charged in her death, cops said Friday. 

Karen Barnes —  60-year-old grandmother —  was left beaten to death on the kitchen floor of her apartment on East Fifth Street near Ditmas Avenue in Kensington, cops said. 

She was pronounced dead after cops showed up there around 8 p.m. Wednesday to conduct a wellness check, authorities said.

Police confirmed that she suffered blunt force trauma to the body. It’s unclear if any weapons were used in the deadly assault. 

Authorities also found Barnes’ ex-beau, identified by police and sources as Noel Hogan, barricaded in the back room of the apartment with a cut on his chest, cops said. 

Hogan was taken to Maimonides Medical Center for treatment and evaluation. It was unclear how he sustained the cut.

He was charged with manslaughter and criminal negligent homicide, cops said.

Eight domestic incidents have been reported between the pair from May 2021 and July 2022, authorities said. 

Hogan is the suspect in seven of the eight incidents, cops said. 

Inside Barnes’ Kensington apartment Friday afternoon, a decorated Christmas tree lay on its side. 

Barnes was a marathon runner who also used to run her own PR agency out in San Fransico, her ex said. 

“She ran a very successful business in San Francisco,” Mike Monroe said. 

She leaves behind two daughters, ages 30 and 29, and a 5-year-old granddaughter, according to Monroe.

“It’s a huge shock to them and they are just trying to process it…we are all just working through it as a family,” he said.

He told The Post he was unaware of any issues with Barnes’ ex-boyfriend.

Gilberto Sosa, 63, an upstairs neighbor, said he heard nothing when the deadly assault allegedly happened Wednesday night. 

“She’s fragile,” Sosa said of Barnes. “Maybe one single punch knocked her down and he hit her. Maybe that’s why I heard no noise. The guy is tall. She’s not a tall girl.

Sosa said Barnes moved into the apartment five or six years ago — and he believed she lived alone. 

He said he used to see her ex-beau more frequently, but lately he hasn’t been around as much.

“They were always together, when they’d go to the beach,” he said. “They seemed like a normal couple.”

“I saw them when they would walk in together.”

He said he always viewed Barnes as “a good girl.”

“She’d say ‘good morning’ every day. He always said hi to me.”