Exclusive: Family speaks out after woman murdered along with friend, dog in Washington Heights
WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, Manhattan (WABC) -- Dramatic video captured a scary encounter between a woman and her neighbor in Washington Heights just five months before the woman was killed and the man is wanted for her murder.
It took an entire family in Washington Heights to keep the man from breaking down a door with a hammer. Police arrested the man and released him - but the story does not end there.
Five months later, the man, who police identify as Lenue Moore tracked down one of the women inside that home and killed the mother of two.
Jackie Billini was walking the family dog with a friend near the home on West 163rd Street on September 29 when Moore, her next-door neighbor allegedly shot and killed all three.
Jackie's family is speaking for the first time exclusively to Eyewitness News.
"She didn't deserve that - not her, the person, the dog - nobody deserves a death like that," said Jackie's brother, Jose Billini.
Moore is considered armed and dangerous. On April 11 he kicked in the door and forced his way into Jackie's apartment. Jackie's daughter, along with others desperately tried keeping the suspect out.
"He kept edging himself in - his foot was stuck in the door. It was horrible," her daughter said.
At one point, Moore struck Jackie's daughter's boyfriend in the head with the hammer. It took four adults to keep the suspect out.
"If it was not four of us, it could have ended Jackie's life that night - or any of us," said the boyfriend.
Moore was arrested, but released on $5,000 bail. An order of protection was put in place, but that did not keep him away.
"He violated the order of protection the next day. There were people in the neighborhood who said they would see him at the corner store, so he wasn't that far," said Jackie's daughter.
Police say Moore targeted Jackie because of an ongoing dispute over her barking dogs. In February he stabbed one. However, Jackie's family feels the case has stalled - which stings, because Jackie worked for the court system for more than 30 years.
"If they wouldn't never let him out, this would have never happened," adds Jose.
They all now live in constant fear while mourning the loss of a woman who could light up any room.
"She was the best - always smiling. She was my best friend, and I can never get that back," her daughter adds.
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