NEW YORK, NY – Two teenagers have been charged with murder in the death of a 52-year-old woman whose body was found in a duffel bag in her upscale Manhattan apartment in March, according to the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
Kensly Alston and Halley Tejada are facing multiple charges, including murder, burglary, robbery, grand larceny, and concealment of a human corpse in connection with the death of Nadia Vitels inside her 19th-floor apartment on East 31st Street.
The luxury apartment, known for its direct elevator access and exclusivity, was the scene of a tragic violation, with squatters able to come and go unnoticed. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg stated that the suspects allegedly killed Vitels while she was in the process of settling into her new home.
Court documents reveal that on the morning of March 10, Vitels was bringing items into her newly moved-in apartment in Kips Bay before leaving and returning later that day. Alston and Tejada were caught on surveillance entering the apartment multiple times over the course of two days, eventually being present when Vitels returned home on March 12.
Vitels’ loved ones grew concerned after not hearing from her since she moved in, prompting a search of the apartment by the building superintendent. It was during this search that Vitels’ body was discovered in a duffel bag in a coat closet, with the cause of death later determined to be blunt force trauma by the medical examiner’s office.
After fleeing Manhattan in Vitels’ car and crashing it in Pennsylvania, Alston and Tejada were apprehended by the US Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force. The suspects allegedly made purchases with Vitels’ stolen credit cards, providing vital leads for their capture.
The details of the case continue to unfold as the investigation into Vitels’ tragic death expands. Attorney information for Alston and Tejada has not been made publicly available at this time.