A judge will allow DNA evidence and a videotaped confession to be admitted into the upcoming trial of a man accused of murdering the Queens jogger Karina Vetrano in 2016.
Queens Supreme Court Justice Gregory Lasak announced that all evidence will be admitted when the trial begins for accused killer Chanel Lewis, according to the New York Daily News.
Lewis’ attorneys previously questioned the validity of his DNA sample and the method by which they obtained his confession, suggesting neither were strong enough pieces of evidences to be used against him in court.
Queens Supreme Court Justice Gregory Lasak announced that all evidence will be admitted when the trial begins for accused killer Chanel Lewis, according to the New York Daily News
Lewis has been accused of beating and strangling Karina Vetrano on August 2, 2016, while she was jogging alone on an empty path near her home in Howard Beach, New York
The 21-year-old has been accused of beating and strangling Vetrano on August 2, 2016, while she was jogging alone on an empty path near her home in Howard Beach, New York.
Last year his lawyers filed a separate lawsuit, bringing into question the method the police used to obtain his DNA sample, which is known as familial DNA searching.
Familial DNA searching uses genetic material, such as skin cells or hair, to see if it matches the DNA of another convicted offender. They can then see if the relative of a convicted offender is the potential suspect.
His lawyers also questioned how the confession, which was videotaped, was obtained – suggesting he was coerced into confessing.
‘From day one, we believed this gentleman was coerced into a confession. We are sticking by that 100 percent,’ Family spokesperson Reverend Kevin McCall told the Daily News.
But on Monday Justice Lasak said he would allow all of that evidence to be used in the upcoming trial against Lewis.
‘This is DNA, a confession, facts,’ Vetrano’s mother Cathy said outside of court Monday.
‘We just want justice and a violent person off the streets.’
Lewis’ attorneys previously questioned the validity of his DNA sample and the method by which they obtained his confession, suggesting neither were strong enough pieces of evidences to be used against him in court. Vetrano is pictured jogging on the day she went missing
Lewis was arrested eight months after her body was found when DNA evidence found at the crime scene linked him to the murder
‘This is DNA, a confession, facts,’ Vetrano’s mother Cathy said outside of court Monday. She and Philip Verano are pictured outside of court in November 2017
Lewis was arrested eight months after her body was found when DNA evidence found at the crime scene linked him to the murder.
A trial date has not yet been set.
In the video confession Lewis can be heard saying: ‘I was mad, I saw red.’ He also told police he grabbed Vetrano as she was jogging past him and that he beat her five times, knocking her unconscious and breaking her teeth, after she started clawing at him.
‘She didn’t yell,’ the accused killer said in the video, with not even a flicker of emotion on his cold face.
‘She was finished. I finished her off, I strangled her. She fell into the puddle and drowned. I got up and wiped off the blood. And she was calm, she was in the pool of water.’
He then gestured at his face and explained that her head was completely submerged in the water.
In the video confession Lewis can be heard saying: ‘I was mad, I saw red.’ He also told police he grabbed Vetrano as she was jogging past him and that he beat her five times, knocking her unconscious and breaking her teeth, after she started clawing at him
Lewis confessed to the crime after watching cartoons in a precinct all night. He was arrested on February 4, and initially refused to speak to police, asking instead to watch TV, a detective said in court on Monday, according to the Daily News
Shockingly, as he finished telling cops how he ended her life, he asked if there was a ‘restitution program.’ He seemed to think he could pay his way out of murder charges.
‘I can straighten out my stuff?’ he asked the prosecutor. ‘Well you’re the DA right? Where do we go from here? Is there a restitution program or something?’
In the tape he also insisted he didn’t molest her – as was suggested by cops, who found her with her jogging shorts around her ankles.
Lewis told the police in the interview that he killed Vetrano because ‘a guy moved into my house and neighborhood.’
Police weren’t sure what that meant.
Lewis confessed to the crime after watching cartoons in a precinct all night. He was arrested on February 4, and initially refused to speak to police, asking instead to watch TV, a detective said in court on Monday, according to the Daily News.
‘He said he wanted to see cartoons, so we put cartoons on him through the night. He said he couldn’t sleep,’ Detective Barry Brown explained.