Robert Boyce unpacks true crime cases featured on 'New York Homicide' show

NEW YORK - Before he became the face of Oxygen’s "New York Homicide," Robert Boyce spent decades in the NYPD, joining the force in 1983 as a 28-year-old recruit stationed on the Upper West Side’s 24th Precinct.

"I turned 28 in the Academy, which helped me, by the way. It really did," he said. "I was much more mature than 20."

At the time, the city was on edge and the department was far less equipped.

"In ’83, it was a completely different city," Boyce recalled. "Things were fast and loose. We carried .38s and wore light blue shirts."

‘It happened overnight’: How crack changed the streets

Everything shifted when crack cocaine hit New York, Boyce explained.

"It seemed like it happened overnight," he said. "It became an intoxicant… it changed everything. Created people who were so driven to it, so addicted to it, to commit crime and violence."

At the peak, the city saw more than 2,000 homicides a year.

"That was ’93, the highest year we had," he said. "I worked in the 7-5 Squad in East New York, Brooklyn. That was the epicenter."

Boyce noted how far the city had come. 

"In 1993 there were 200 homicides [in the 7-3 and 7-5]. When I left, it was 20."

Inside the CompStat revolution

Boyce credited much of the NYPD’s turnaround to one innovation: CompStat.

"CompStat was the arena that you made your career in," he said.

In the beginning, it was crude. "Nobody was really mapping crime…we did that ourselves with thumbtacks on a map."

Before digital records, detectives had to physically retrieve mugshots and rap sheets. "Now, everything’s done on [computers]," he said.

The technology changed the speed of justice.

"You see these detectives… and the next night, you see the person being taken out of the precinct," Boyce said. "That’s because of the technology we have now. And great police work too."

The Karina Vetrano case: ‘She fought for her life’

One of the cases that stuck with Boyce was the 2016 murder of Karina Vetrano.

"She usually ran with her father… Phil, her father, was hurt. He had a bad back. He didn’t run. And I think that guilt stays with Phil, and he really shouldn’t."

"She was attacked. Brutally. Brutally beaten," he said. "We believe it was attempted sexual assault. Karina fought for her life, and in doing so, she lost her life. But also, she identified the perpetrator."

Boyce described how a tip from Lieutenant John Russo, who remembered stopping a suspicious man in the area months earlier, helped break the case.

"He said he has no friends. I said, well, you just described a serial murderer to me, by the way. So we’re going to check this DNA anyway."

It was a match. "We got his phone. His phone triangulated to that park. He had made a full confession to us."

The ‘masked assassin’ who killed Faheem Saleh

Another case featured on "New York Homicide" is the 2020 murder of tech entrepreneur Faheem Saleh.

"He was really attacked in his office. Brutally beaten and stabbed to death," Boyce said.

Detectives began with almost nothing, but a clue from a stun gun helped them build a case.

"They were able to piece together information that I had never heard of before," he said.

Saleh was seen entering an elevator with someone he knew.

"That changes your outside world. It’s not a stranger," Boyce said. "Now we shut up all the outside stuff and go right into his lifestyle."

At the scene, detectives worked to preserve every detail.

"You protect the integrity of the crime scene… Sometimes it’s not only what you see, it’s what you don’t see."

In a related case in Manhattan, detectives tracked the suspect back to a coffee shop.

"You look for what he bought… You find the wrappers down the street. Now you got DNA."

In the Saleh case, one second of security footage showed the suspect removing his mask.

"You want to capture that moment," Boyce said.

Staten Island’s Megan Marotte: ‘She’s gone, not of her own volition’

Another case that stuck with Boyce was the disappearance and murder of 20-year-old Megan Marotte.

"We had three Staten Island cases, all young ladies this year," he said. "The pregnancy is a big tip, and you got to run that down."

Marotte was last seen near a deli on August 4, 2013. Eleven days later, two women walking their dog found her decomposed body in Willowbrook Park.

"You look at your missings first," he said. "You can tell almost immediately that… she’s gone, not of her own volition."

Even with decomposition, detectives pressed forward.

"That type of decomposition is not impossible to work with," Boyce said. "You have an identified body. That really increases your chance to solve the crime."

He acknowledged Marotte had prior run-ins with the law but said that every life mattered, and every case deserved to be solved. 

From the streets to the screen

The idea for "New York Homicide" came after Boyce’s retirement in 2018. "At the time… law enforcement [was] getting a really bad look," he said. "I said, well, that’s not us. We help people."

Boyce and his wife, a retired detective, flew to Hollywood to help pitch the show. Many of the detectives featured are people they worked with. "Most want to come back home because they’re proud of their work," he said. "Some others don’t want to… they don’t want to go on TV."

The cases featured span every borough, and Boyce noted the show’s authenticity: "They’re not actors… You could tell it’s a New York show."

Retirement, but not too far from the badge

Although retired, Boyce remains close to the department. "I’m happy with the Detective Bureau… Detective Joe Kenny is tremendous," he said. "I’m always proud when I see something. I’m not surprised when they make these arrests."

He praised federal task forces built during his time. "They helped us bring down gang crime tremendously, cybercrime, human trafficking, gun investigations."

He added: "You want to carry that ball down the field from the last guy who had it."

The job never really ends

Detectives featured in "New York Homicide" often speak about how a case can consume them. "You lose your life for a couple of weeks, at least a couple of days, until you make that arrest," Boyce said. "You’re not going to your kids’ ball games… You’re not really eating right."

And sometimes, justice takes years. He referenced a diamond dealer executed on 47th Street. "We got the perpetrator fairly quickly, but we didn’t get all the perpetrators… years later… we were able to get the person behind [it]."

Even now, Boyce says, "I’ll always be NYPD."