Yonkers Police announced Monday that two arrests have been made in a cold case from nearly a decade ago involving a woman who was found dead in a garbage bag in a wooded area.
Wanda Veguilla, of the Bronx, was arrested on Jan. 23 and charged with murder, more than nine years after her partner who she was living with was found dead, according to Yonkers police.
On Sept. 4, 2012, Yonkers Police responded to a report of a suspicious package in a wooded area between Rossmore Avenue and Midland Avenue, next to the Sprain Brooklyn River Parkway, and discovered a decomposing body wrapped in a garbage bag, police said. Investigators found that the victim, 26-year-old Pamela Graddick, of the Bronx, was killed from a gunshot to the head.
After few leads, the case was transferred over to the cold case unit, who worked for seven years narrowing down information and honing in on a suspect, after a person of interest had been established early in the investigation, according to police. After years of working the case to find probable cause, the main suspect confessed to the killing, Yonkers police said.
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Based on evidence and statements made by the now- 40-year-old Veguilla, Graddick was shot and killed in the Bronx apartment she shared with Veguilla after ongoing domestic problems between the pair, who were in a relationship and living together at the time.
Detectives believe that Veguilla was allegedly assisted by an accomplice who provided the murder weapon and helped move the body. That accomplice is said to be 30-year-old John Torres, of Yonkers, who was charged Jan. 25 with criminal facilitation, hindering prosecution and evidence tampering.
"The passage of time only reinforces our commitment to solving these heinous crimes," said Yonkers Police Commissioner John Mueller. "I hope that these arrests bring some degree of closure to Pamela's family and friends."
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Both Veguilla and Torres were arraigned in Yonkers Criminal Court and remanded to Westchester County Jail pending their next court appearance. It was not immediately clear if either had hired an attorney.
