The US Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force successfully apprehended two fugitives in the provincial town of York, Pennsylvania, suspected of involvement in the death of 52-year-old Nadia Vitel in her luxurious Manhattan apartment—where both men were reportedly residing as squatters for months while Vitel was away.
Vitel’s body was found last week encased in a duffel bag, as reported by senior law enforcement officials on Friday. The detainees, aged 19 and 16, are now facing charges related to Vitel’s death, although specific details about the charges and their arrest remain undisclosed.
The arrests occurred following revelations from NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny about the investigation’s expansion to Pennsylvania due to a car crash involving the suspects. This crash happened after they were observed on surveillance footage leaving Vitel’s 19th-floor apartment on East 31st Street.
The wellness check that led to the discovery of Vitel’s body was prompted by her absence since her recent return to New York to manage her late mother’s apartment. It is believed that Vitel, unaware of the apartment’s occupancy due to it being vacant for months, stumbled upon the squatters, leading to her untimely death.
Surveillance footage plays a crucial role in piecing together the events leading to Vitel’s murder, showing her movements around her building on March 10 and the suspects entering shortly afterward. They were later seen leaving on March 12 in Vitel’s stolen vehicle, which then crashed at Lower Paxton Township, Pennsylvania. This incident provided law enforcement with crucial leads, despite an initial oversight by local police in running the vehicle’s plates.
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