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Carlos Fortier was the shooter who murdered Eduard Nektalov in Manhattan's Diamond District in 2004. He was retained as part of a murder-for-hire scheme arranged by Hector Rivera. Fortier was arrested for unrelated offenses following the murder and later recognized as Nektalov's killer.
Fortier never came to trial for the murder. As per the NY Post, he died in prison approximately one year after the murder. His passing brought an end to any additional prosecution of him in the Nektalov case.
Carlos Fortier's story, his criminal history, and what ultimately befell him will be detailed in the most recent installment of New York Homicide on Oxygen. The episode is set to air on May 17, 2025.
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Carlos Fortier's involvement in the Nektalov murder
As per the documents from the United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, Carlos Fortier was hired by associates of Hector Rivera to kill Eduard Nektalov. According to court records and news accounts, this was done after Rivera decided to kill Nektalov over a business disagreement and fears Nektalov may have been cooperating with police.
Carlos Fortier shot Nektalov on May 20, 2004, once in the head and twice in the back with a gun supplied by Rivera while pursuing Nektalov outside his jewelry store. The shooting occurred mid-block on a crowded Manhattan street at rush hour.
As per QNS, shell casings found at the scene were later matched by investigators with a gun used in another shooting in the Bronx where Fortier had been involved. The evidence, coupled with witness statements, prompted authorities to indict Fortier for Nektalov's murder. Fortier was already in custody on other weapons charges when he was officially charged with the diamond dealer's murder.
Carlos Fortier's criminal history and arrest
As per QNS, Fortier had a prolific history of crime before the Nektalov homicide. They reported, based on police and court records, that Fortier had been convicted of manslaughter in Manhattan in 1988 and spent around five years in jail before being released in 2003.
Following his release, he was extradited to Puerto Rico to finish a murder sentence, after having already served time there before escaping from prison in 1997. He was released by Puerto Rican authorities in January 2004 and returned to New York. Fortier was arrested in August 2004 for shooting into a crowd in the Bronx.
As per QNS, ballistic evidence from the shooting was subsequently traced to the gun used in the Nektalov case. When police linked him to the murder of Nektalov, he was already in custody at Rikers Island on Bronx weapons charges. Fortier pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the Nektalov case and was held without bail.
Death in prison and its aftermath
As per the New York Post, Fortier never went to trial for Eduard Nektalov's murder. Based on reports from JCK Online and the New York Post, Fortier passed away in prison sometime after the murder of Nektalov. It is reported that he died of AIDS while incarcerated.
His death brought an end to his direct involvement in the Nektalov case, leaving Hector Rivera to be the prime defendant charged with masterminding the murder. With Fortier's death, law enforcement targeted Rivera and his accomplices. Rivera was subsequently convicted and sentenced to life in prison for coordinating the murder-for-hire scheme.
For more details about Carlos Fortier, watch New York Homicide on Oxygen.
