Two suspected teen squatters are now charged with murder in the death of 52-year-old Nadia Vitels, who was killed in March when she went to check up on her luxury apartment in Kips Bay.
Two suspected teen squatters were charged with murder in the death of a 52-year-old mother whose body was discovered in a duffel bag in her upscale Manhattan apartment in March, the Manhattan district attorney's announced.
In addition to murder, both Kensly Alston and Halley Tejada face charges including burglary, robbery, grand larceny and concealment of a human corpse for their roles in the death of Nadia Vitels inside her 19th-floor apartment on East 31st Street.
The luxury apartment, characterized by its direct elevator access into its vestibule, highlighted the privacy and exclusivity of the residence, juxtaposing the violation that occurred within its walls. The direct elevator access also allowed squatters to come and go as they pleased, officials have said.
"Kensly Alston and Halley Tejada allegedly murdered Nadia Vitels in her own apartment while she was moving in to start a new chapter of her life," Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg said on Thursday.
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During the morning of March 10, Vitels brought items from her car to the Kips Bay apartment she recently moved in to, according to court documents. She then drove away.
About two and a half hours later, the 18-year-old Alston and 19-year-old Tejada got inside the luxury apartment, with a pink suitcase in tow. The pair left and returned multiple times over the next two days.
On March 12, Vitels returned to her home, parking out front of the building and heading into the apartment with her dog around just before noon — where Alston and Tejada were still inside. After leaving to buy a vape at a smoke shop and use Vitels' credit card to buy a suitcase at Target, the two teens came back around 3 p.m., using a key to get in, the DA's office said.
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Just before 6 p.m., the two left the building wearing blue gloves, along with the suitcase bought at Target, the pink suitcase they came with, toilet paper and a bag from Target, court documents state.
After two days of not getting any responses from her since she moved into her new home, Vitels' loved ones asked the building superintendent if they could be allowed into the apartment. Once inside, they saw her dog was alone and there was a crack in a bedroom wall, according to court documents.
They then checked a coat closet by the front door, finding jackets piled on top of a bag on the floor. A family member moved the coats aside, finding Vitels' body inside the bag, the DA's office said.
The cause of death was later determined by the medical examiner's office to be blunt force trauma.
The investigation's breadth extended to a search warrant executed at Vitels' apartment and an examination of the garbage receptacle area, uncovering personal items belonging to Vitels.
Alston and Tejada were caught on March 22 by the US Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force in Pennsylvania in connection with the slaying. After they had driven off in Vitels' car from Manhattan, the pair allegedly drove it over the George Washington Bridge, then crashed it in Lower Paxton Township, Pennsylvania.
The aftermath of the crash provided law enforcement with vital leads to apprehend the suspects, despite initial delays caused by local police not running the vehicle's plates immediately.
Their arrest came after the the pair allegedly made a number of purchases on the stolen credit cards, including a PlayStation 5, Airpods, clothes, food and diamond ring.
Attorney information for them was not immediately clear.
