Two teens were arrested on Friday for murdering a woman whose body was discovered in her New York apartment last week.
Sources told the New York Post that U.S. Marshals apprehended Halley Tejada, 19, and Kensly Alston, 18, in Pennsylvania. The pair was allegedly squatting in a Manhattan apartment belonging to Nadia Vitel (or Vitels), 52, — whose body was found in a duffel bag in a closet near the unit’s entrance on March 14.
New York police said they believe suspects fatally beat Vitel after she encountered them in her 19th-floor apartment. The New York Post reported that Vitel suffered head trauma, a brain bleed, facial fractures, and broken ribs.
READ: Son Conducting Welfare Check Finds Mom’s Body in Duffel Bag in Her Closet
Surveillance footage showed Vitel enter her apartment on March 10 — the same day a man and woman were also seen entering her apartment. The pair was reportedly spotted leaving the building two days later, around the time Vitel’s son requested a wellness check.
Surveillance cameras allegedly filmed Tejada and Alston fleeing the apartment in Vitel’s stolen SUV. While Vitel’s body was discovered in the apartment, her items were reportedly found in the building’s public disposal area.
Police said the suspects eventually crashed Vitel’s car in Paxton Township, Pennsylvania. Additionally, sources told The New York Post that the teens had used Vitel’s credit cards in Pennsylvania.
WNBC reported that Vitel vanished earlier this month after she went to view her deceased mother’s apartment. Vitel had recently returned from traveling and went to the apartment — believing it was unoccupied — to prepare it for a friend to move in. CBS reported that the unit had been vacant for months after Vitel’s mother’s death.
Specific details regarding Tejada and Alston’s arrests have not been disclosed. It is also unclear what charges they are facing for Vitel’s slaying.
This story is developing.
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[Featured image: Nadia Vitel/Facebook]
