A man found dead at a Central Park playground in an apparent suicide had a history of drug abuse and ranted to his mom the night before that he was being hunted by “human traffickers,” law enforcement sources told The Post Tuesday.
Ian Stapp, 37, of Brooklyn, was found at the Heckscher Playground by park workers shortly after 8:30 a.m. Monday, bloodied with nearly three dozen stab wounds, including a slashed throat and several cuts to his neck, police said.
Stapp’s roommate in Prospect Park South told cops the dead man frequently smoked marijuana and the synthetic drug K-2, while his mom said a psychiatrist once diagnosed him with “signs of bipolar” disorder, according to sources.
The worried mother, from Arizona, also told detectives that Stapp called her on Sunday night ranting about human traffickers and told her he would rather kill himself than let himself be captured by the smugglers, the sources said.
Stapp was first spotted inside a bathroom near the playground by a Central Park Conservancy worker shortly before 7 a.m. leaning over a sink and staring at himself in the mirror.
The worker saw a little blood on Stapp’s hands but assumed it was from a cut while shaving, according to sources.
3 Police on Tuesday identified the man found dead at a Central Park playground as Ian Stapp, 37, of Brooklyn. J. Messerschmidt for NY Post
3 Ian Stapp, 37, had nearly three dozen self-inflicted stab wounds when he was found dead, police sources told The Post. J. Messerschmidt for NY Post
At around 8 a.m., another park worker told police he unlocked the playground and saw Stapp lying face-up on the ground and called his manager, who then dialed 911.
Stapp was pronounced dead by EMS workers at 8:54 a.m.
He had as many as 30 superficial stab wounds to his stomach and chest, a deep cut across his throat, five cuts to the left side of his neck and a slash wound from his left ear to his neck, the sources said.
Police later found drug paraphernalia “in plain view” in his Ocean Avenue apartment, according to sources.
“Our preliminary theory and investigation indicates that his injuries could have been self-inflicted,” NYPD Assistant Chief Ruel Stephenson said at a press briefing Monday.
3 Ian Stapp was first spotted inside a Central Park bathroom around 6:40 a.m. Monday by a maintenance worker who assumed the blood on his hands was from a cut while shaving. Stapp was found dead by another worker after 8 a.m. J. Messerschmidt for NY Post
Cops said they found a pocket knife with a 2 1/2-inch blade in the pocket of Stapp’s hoodie.
The popular playground spans 4.5 acres and was the first of Central Park’s 21 recreational playgrounds, opening to the public in 1926.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
Man found dead in Central Park had drug, mental health history
