Two teenage squatters accused of murdering a mother and stuffing her body into a bag have been arrested in Pennsylvania.
Nadia Vitels, 52, was found dead in her East 31st Street apartment in Manhattan’s Kips Bay on March 14 after her family called the building inspector to do a wellness check.
The medical examiner ruled her death a homicide after an autopsy determined she died of multiple facial fractures, a brain hemorrhage, two broken ribs and blunt force trauma to the head.
Authorities arrested teenagers Halley Tejada, 19, and Kensly Alston, 18, in connection with her death in York Friday morning, according to New York Post.
The pair are believed to have been squatting in Vitels’ apartment before they allegedly beat her to death.
Nadia Vitels, 52, was found inside the bag in her East 31st Street apartment in Manhattan’s Kips Bay on March 14 after her family called the building inspector to do a wellness check
Tejada and Alston were tracked down by U.S. Marshals and arrested around 1 p.m. 11 a.m.
“We believe that some squatters took over the apartment and that this woman came home … and walked in on the squatters that were there,” NYPD Detective Chief Joseph Kenny said.
The two suspects were seen driving away in Vitel’s Lexus SUV around the time they believe she died and even captured on surveillance footage that has yet to be released to the public.
Kenny added that the unique design of the ‘upscale apartment’ meant they may have been able to hide from the Vitels for some time.
“The apartment itself is very unique in that there is no front door to the apartment. You take an elevator up and then you settle in. The elevator is actually your front door,” Kenny added New York Post.
Michael Medvedev, Vitels’ son, made the grisly discovery of his mother’s body when he returned with building superintendent Jean Pompee, who has lived there for 22 years, after Vitels had not been seen for 48 hours.
“As they get ready to leave, the son opens the closet door near the front door and discovers the bag with a foot sticking out,” Kenny said.
The suspects are believed to have driven over the George Washington Bridge into New Jersey before crashing Vitels’ SUV in Pennsylvania’s Lower Paxton Township.
Her son, Michael Medvedev, remembers his mother as a smart, beautiful and adventurous woman during her funeral at Gutterman’s Funeral Home in Woodbury on Monday
Medvedev said his mother loved her dog and had adopted the puppy while going through a difficult time in her life caring for her sick parents
NYPD officials didn’t receive the license plates on the car until the next day, but they do know the squatters immediately tried to spend $1,000 on a replacement vehicle.
Medvedev remembered his mother as a smart, beautiful and adventurous woman during her funeral at Gutterman’s Funeral Home in Woodbury on Monday.
‘I remember her showing me a gold medal she had won at high school in Russia, a student honors medal for being top of her class. That medal has always stuck with me for some reason. It made me feel proud to be her son and I wanted to earn my gold medals to live up to her,” Medvedev said.
He said his mother had moved to the United States from Russia to attend college in Oklahoma and play tennis, then moved to Miami for college.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Vitels was a marketing professional who worked at Canon, Nokia and tennis star Maria Sharapova’s candy line, Sugarpova.
NYPD officers were seen hauling several bags of the victim’s belongings, including three suitcases and bags of her clothing, out of the building last week.
Her family told Medvedev they hadn’t heard from her in a few days, so he went up to her apartment to check on her and saw signs that something was wrong.
Medvedev said his mother loved her dog and had adopted the puppy while she was going through a difficult time in her life caring for her sick parents.
Sources said police are looking for two suspects described as a black man and a black woman both in their 20s who were seen driving away in Vitels’ Lexus SUV
The medical examiner ruled her death a homicide on Friday after an autopsy revealed she died of blunt force trauma to the head
‘He became her next obsession, her best friend, her husband. He was the only man she needed,’ the son said at her funeral.
‘This little puppy gave her the love she needed to get through the hardest time of her life.’
Pompee discovered that her dog was urinating all over the floor because it had been unattended, which was very unusual.
‘They found a bag in the cupboard and said, ‘I think there’s a body in here.’ I sensed something was wrong, it looked suspicious, Pompee said.
He added that he saw signs of a struggle in the apartment as the switch panel, which he believes is electrical, was left damaged.
Vitels’ worried family members then called the fire department, which arrived quickly on the scene.
“The fire department opened the bag and discovered her body,” Pompee added. ‘I didn’t look and see the body myself, they just said there was a body in there and called the police. It was in the cupboard by the entrance to the door.
‘It was in a small type of bag you zipped up, a soft case. I felt bad, you never want to hear of someone being killed or murdered.’
According to her LinkedIn profile, Vitels was a marketing professional who worked at Canon, Nokia and tennis star Maria Sharapova’s candy line, Sugarpova
Vitels recently moved into the apartment, and her son said she was excited to move to the city
The superintendent confirmed that there was a different name on the lease for the apartment Vitels was in and said he had only met that person once and had forgotten what they looked like.
‘She (Vitels) obviously sublet. I didn’t know she was going to move in,” he added.
Vitels had reportedly moved into the apartment just days before her death, and Medvedev said his mother was looking forward to starting this next chapter in her life.
‘Getting ready to move to New York City where she would conquer the world. She was so excited to move into the city,’ he said.