Courtesy of Gothamist
Murder suspect Chanel Lewis confesses to Det. Barry Brown inside the 107th Precinct stationhouse.
By Michael V. Cusenza
The riveting trial of the man accused of sexually assaulting and murdering Howard Beach jogger Karina Vetrano turned its attention to the footage of the accused confessing to the grisly crime.
Cameras inside an interrogation room at the 107th Precinct stationhouse seem to capture Chanel Lewis, 22, admitting guilt over several hours of confinement and questioning.
Lewis told detectives on Feb. 5, 2017 that he was already upset when he entered Spring Creek Park around 5 p.m. on Aug. 2, 2016, fuming about a man blasting music at Lewis’s East New York residence. So when he encountered Vetrano, 30, as she jogged through the federal green space he snapped.
“I never meant to hurt her or anything but I got so angry,” he told Det. Barry Brown.
Lewis informed investigators that Vetrano did nothing to provoke the savage beating, nor did she scream during it, which he said lasted approximately five minutes. And he was adamant about the sexual assault aspect of the attack.
“I didn’t do any of the other stuff they said … sexual assault and other stuff like that,” Lewis said.
A forensic pathologist with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner who performed the autopsy on Vetrano testified on Wednesday about cause of death and the injuries she sustained as a result of the attack.
Vetrano was strangled to death after being beaten and sexually assaulted, Dr. Margaret Prial said, according to an ABC 7 Eyewitness News report.
“She had injuries, strangulation injuries and blunt-impact injuries to her face and head,” Prial testified as she detailed 14 graphic autopsy photos displayed in court.
