Squatters killed Russian-speaking apartment owner in New York

Two squatters are being sought in New York City in connection with the gruesome murder of a 52-year-old woman. The body of the murdered woman was found on March 14 in a sports bag in the prestigious apartment of her late mother in Manhattan, reports New York Post.

The victim of the attack, Nadya Vitel, accidentally discovered that the criminals were hiding in her apartment on the 19th floor on East 31st Street. They brutally beat the victim.

Scary guests

Vitel flew in from Spain and immediately went to her late mother’s apartment. Her apartment was empty at that time for about three to four months. The daughter wanted to start preparing there for the arrival of a family friend.

Previously we wrote about another case of uninvited guests – Police took a Queens homeowner into custody after she tried to change the locks on her home because of a squatter.

On the subject: Road brawl in New York ends in murder in front of children

“We believe that some squatters have taken over the apartment. The woman entered it and encountered the intruders who were there,” said NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenney.

According to law enforcement officers, as a result of the brutal beating, Vitel received a blunt head injury, multiple facial fractures, and a brain hemorrhage. In addition, two of her ribs were broken.

The criminals were recorded on CCTV cameras as they left the apartment after the murder. They left in a Lexus SUV that belonged to the deceased woman.

The thieves raced across the George Washington Bridge across New Jersey and into Pennsylvania, police said. There, the criminals eventually crashed the SUV in the town of Lower Paxton.

After the accident, the squatters visited several local car dealerships to buy a new car for $1000.

Body in a sports bag

The victim's body was discovered by her son, 19-year-old Mikhail Medvedev. He did not hear from his mother and came to the apartment on March 14 in the afternoon. He knew the mother was there because they tracked each other's locations through their mobile apps, police said.

The son opened the closet door near the front door and found a duffel bag with his leg sticking out, police said.

It is not clear how long the criminals hid in the apartment before the victim discovered them, or how they managed to enter it in the first place.

“This apartment is unique in that it does not have an entrance door. You take the elevator up and then enter the key. The elevator is really your front door,” Kenny noted.

While police have not released the identities of the two suspects, sources previously described them as a man and woman in their 20s.