A Queens grandmother whose corpse was left in bags for five months and found last year was strangled by her grandson, police say, and the man has been rearrested in the case, authorities said Wednesday.
Christopher Fuhrer, 30, is now facing manslaughter charges in connection with the death of 85-year-old Erika Kraus-Breslin, according to police.
In October, police found Kraus-Breslin's body in her Ridgewood home after visiting to perform a wellness check at the request of her daughter. Fuhrer led police to her corpse, which was wrapped in plastic bags.
He told officers he'd been living with his grandmother's corpse wrapped in the bags for five months, because he was afraid of becoming homeless. Fuhrer was arrested in October on improper burial and other charges. Police say he told them he wrapped her body in bags and used air fresheners and a fan to mask the smell of decomposition.
Police said at the time that the death didn't appear to be suspicious, but in January investigators deemed the death a homicide after an investigation determined that the woman was strangled.
Nobody was immediately charged in connection with her death, but police said Wednesday night that Fuhrer was rearrested and charged with manslaughter.
The medical examiner's office says Kraus-Breslin died of "homicidal asphyxia, including neck compression."
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It wasn't immediately clear if Fuhrer had an attorney who could comment on the charges.
