Family bewildered after man found dead on burning boat dry-docked in Brooklyn

The family of a man found dead last month on a burning boat in Brooklyn are bewildered — and say it’s the second time they’ve lost a sibling in just over a year while a third has been missing since November.

Anthony Doolan, 31, was discovered on the boat dry-docked in a Red Hook private lot on April 27 after the 4:54 a.m. blaze. Witnesses first called 911 reporting a dumpster fire, FDNY officials said. But when firefighters arrived to the fenced-in area on Conover St. near Beard St., they realized the fire was coming from a boat on a trailer.

Hours before Doolan was found he had been with his sister in Astoria, she said.

“He was at my house that morning,” said Jessica Simpson, 34. “He left my house at 1 a.m. He said he was going to go stay with his friend. He left and then I see on the news 3 or 4 hours after he left my house that this happened.”

For five days, Doolan’s family wondered where he was but with their brother homeless they had no way to contact him.

“He had no phone, nothing,” Simpson said. “I was reaching out [to others]. … Maybe he called one of his friends from upstate.”

It wasn’t until May 2 that Doolan’s family received word that he had died — and it was only after his death that family learned he had been sleeping on the boat.

“Him being burnt up and on a boat, it just doesn’t make sense,” the sister said.

On Friday, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said the death is not considered suspicious at this time as cops wait for a final determination from the city medical examiner. An initial autopsy was inconclusive pending further study.

“Inside the boat we find lighters, cigarettes, vapes, syringes and a cooking stove that has butane fuel to light the stove,” Kenny said of the police investigation into the death. “We also find a benefit card and a pill bottle in a [different] male’s name. Through fingerprint analysis we’re able to identify the victim.”

“The body was found in a fetal position,” he added. “It seemed like he was sleeping in the boat and maybe using the stove as a source of heat.”

Several boats are stored in the lot, which also contains a homeless encampment next to the boat that burned, police said.

Doolan had several narcotics arrests on his record in Middletown, Orange County, Kenny said.

“I found out he was living on the boat because of the detective,” said brother Joseph Simpson, 41, of Middletown. “I’m still baffled by everything that’s happened.”

Doolan’s brother said Doolan had taken the death of his mother at age 14 particularly hard but the nine siblings stayed close, looking after each other, especially the youngest, Anthony.

“He was a good kid. He was young when we lost our mother, and from there he was lost without Mom. He moved up to Albany with me, he moved around with our sisters — he tried to find a way. He thought the city was going to be something new and amazing for him, and then this happened.”

“He was a harmless person, he would never hurt anybody,” he added. “He grew up a country boy, so setting himself on fire makes no sense to any of us.”

Doolan’s siblings, desperate for answers, say they haven’t heard from the NYPD and that it was police in Liberty, Sullivan County, who notified the family of Doolan’s death.

The death is just the latest hardship for the family.

“I’ve lost two brothers in the last year and another brother is presumed missing. It’s been a devastating year for our family,” posted Joseph Simpson in an online fundraiser. “I’m a proud man and I take pride in taking care of family. But I just can’t afford to pay for services and lay them to rest.”

Carl Simpson, 44, died in his sleep on April 2, 2023. Family said Carl’s autopsy results have yet to be released and his body is still with the medical examiner. Jason Simpson, 43, hasn’t been heard from since November.

Joseph Simpson said Jason and Anthony both went to New York City and kept an eye on each other while trying to make their way and make ends meet.

“They would stick together, they would do things together. They would do their little hustles with cans, they would go to soup kitchens,” said Joseph Simpson.

Doolan’s family is left only with fond memories of their little brother pretending to be a superhero while riding his bike, willing to do anything for a laugh.

“He had the best sense of humor,” said eldest sister Melissa Doolan, 48. “He’d ride around town with a ShopRite bag on his shoulders like it was a cape.”

“He would do impressions of people, he was such a comedian,” said Joseph Simpson. “He would jump up on the table and do a Johnny Cash impression.”

Family is hoping anyone with information comes forward.

“They say a man was found dead but to us it’s not a man who was found dead, it’s our baby brother,” said Joseph Simpson. “We have to get to the bottom of this one way or another.”

With Rocco Parascandola