I live in Queens just a mile from this murder scene, and I have been in the family’s back yard.
In the nearby homes where I have babysat, when kids are in the basement and the door to the house is closed, you hardly hear any noise on the first floor, and none on the second or third floor. These are old tudor houses, and they are built very solidly. It does not surprise me at all that someone on the third floor would not hear even a very loud fight or commotion in the basement, especially if the basement door was closed. MOO