Police: Squatters Arrested After NYC Woman's Body Found Stuffed in Duffel Bag
Two people whom authorities say are linked to the brutal killing of a woman in New York City were arrested by U.S. Marshals on Friday in York, Pennsylvania, regarding charges of receiving stolen property.
The individuals in the case were identified as Halley Tejada, 19, and Kensly Alston, 18, WGAL reported.
“The charges are related to the crash of a stolen vehicle in Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, on March 13,” the outlet said.
The car belonged to a woman in her early fifties named Nadia Vitels. Vitels' body was found last week stuffed into a bag and hidden in a closet inside her late mother's apartment in Manhattan, a dwelling where no one had lived for the past few months:
Kips Bay squatters killed Nadia Vitels — mom found dead in duffel bag — cops say https://t.co/7slpboKH2M
— Bo Snerdley (@BoSnerdley) March 21, 2024
Per the WGAL report, Vitels went to the home to prepare for a friend to stay there. Law enforcement officials believe that while the apartment was empty, squatters began living there. Vitels might have come face to face with them when she entered the home.
Authorities believe the squatters beat Vitels to death on March 12 upon returning from a trip to Spain, according to the New York Post.
The outlet said Vitels took some items to the home early on March 10 before leaving for two nights. Law enforcement sources say that on the afternoon of March 10, surveillance video recorded the suspects walking through the building's lobby and going up to the apartment.
The victim's son got a text message from her phone late on March 12, but two days later, he asked police to do a wellness check. As he waited for the officers to arrive, he went inside the home with the building's super.
“The son looked around and was exiting the apartment when he spotted a duffel bag in the closet by the door that had a coat on top of it — and a foot sticking out of it, according to the sources,” the outlet said.
“Vitels’ body was found inside, with blunt force trauma to the head, multiple facial fractures, a brain bleed and two broken ribs,” it added.
Video footage shows the inside of the apartment:
Police say the suspects fled to Pennsylvania in the victim's vehicle, adding they later crashed the car in Lower Paxton Township. The individuals were also accused of using the woman's credit cards.
“They will face extradition to New York City to face possible murder raps,” the Post article said.
In February, an elderly couple who planned to retire and move into a home to care for their disabled son was unable to do so because a squatter refused to leave the New York City property, Breitbart News reported.
The outlet noted that “the state of New York has its own set of 'squatters rights,' that uphold that it is 'unlawful for any person to evict or attempt to evict an occupant of a dwelling unit who has lawfully occupied the dwelling unit for thirty consecutive days or longer.'”
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