Career criminal charged with murder after woman's body found in sleeping bag in Kips Bay
Chad Irish had already been charged with concealment of a corpse
KIPS BAY, Manhattan (WABC) -- A suspect with a lengthy criminal record was held without bail at his arraignment in the death of a woman found inside a sleeping bag in New York City.
Chad Irish, 55, was already in police custody for the alleged concealment of a corpse, has been charged with the murder of 31-year-old Yazmeen Williams.
Williams was found inside a sleeping bag in Kips Bay last week.
Irish's charges include murder in the second degree, criminal possession of a weapon and loaded firearm in the second degree, and concealment of a human corpse. He was also charged with menacing residents with a gun outside his apartment in the Straus Houses.
"This is a very, very strong case that includes surveillance video, given the strength of the case and the seriousness of the crimes," the presiding judge said.
During the arraignment, defense attorneys asked for protective custody and medical attention for Irish while he's behind bars. Prosecutors in the meantime revealed video from June 26, allegedly showing Irish threatening to shoot Williams.
According to authorities, three bullets were recovered inside Irish's apartment. Bullets were also found inside the sleeping bag where the 31-year-old victim was found.
Eyewitness News reporter Kemberly Richardson asked him about the murder as he was brought out from the 13th Precinct on Wednesday evening, but he said he didn't do it.
The charges come after Williams was found dead on Friday in front of 207 East 27th St. Irish was taken into custody on Monday, but it wasn't until Wednesday that he was charged with the 31-year-old's murder.
New video shows more of the tense moments when the Kips Bay community, shocked by the murder of one of their own, unleashes its wrath on Irish as police take him into custody.
Police identified him as a person of interest after a security video showed Irish, who is able to walk but often uses a motorized wheelchair, dragging, what appears to be the same sleeping bag that Williams' body was found in, down East 27th Street. Williams' body was found with a gunshot wound to the head.
Irish is a so-called career criminal with 21 prior arrests. His record goes back to the 1980s and he was in and out of state prison.
ALSO READ | Man charged with concealing corpse after woman's remains found in sleeping bag
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