Karina Vetrano's family watches accused killer's confession in tears

AP logo
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
Vetrano family watches accused killer's confession in tears
Diana Williams reports on the court hearing for the man accused of killing Howard Beach jogger Karina Vetrano.

NEW YORK -- The family of a woman found dead after she vanished while jogging watched in tears as lawyers played a taped confession of the man accused of killing her.

Chanel Lewis has been charged with murder in the 2016 death of Karina Vetrano. He has pleaded not guilty, and his attorneys say his confession was wrongly obtained and should not be admissible in his upcoming trial.

The video was played in court Monday. Lewis says he grabbed the 30-year-old who ran past him in on a secluded section of a marshland park in Queens. He says he beat and strangled her, but he did not molest her. The body had been found with her clothing in disarray leading investigators to suspect she'd also been sexually assaulted.

A judge will decide whether the footage can be used.

Click here for more news coverage of the Howard Beach jogger murder.

----------

* More Queens news

* Send us a news tip

* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts