Woman choked to death found face down in bag of hotel linens in NYC
HELL'S KITCHEN, Manhattan (PIX11) --- The woman choked to death outside a Manhattan hotel was found unconscious with her head buried in a big plastic bag of hotel linens, prosecutors said.
Jaheem Warren allegedly followed the 23-year-old woman along Eighth Avenue for about 25 minutes before he grabbed her and threw her to the ground in front of the Hotel Riu Plaza New York on West 46th Street in Times Square at around 4:45 a.m. on Oct. 29, according to the criminal complaint.
The two briefly spoke on the street before the attack, captured on the hotel surveillance video.
Warren, 33, is accused of shoving Leslie Torre's face into the bag of hotel linens and putting her in a chokehold for almost two minutes as she wrestled to get free. When she stopped moving, he allegedly stayed on top of her for a few more minutes before walking away, prosecutors said.
Torres was unconscious when she was rushed to the hospital and put on life support until she died on Nov. 4, according to the NYPD. She lived at a shelter near where she was killed.
“She was in a coma and died a horrible death,” said the victim’s neighbor, Johnny Wilcox.
Warren was arrested Tuesday and charged with murder, assault, and strangulation, police said. Sources said Warren was allegedly high on drugs during the incident.
State records show Warren was released from a New Jersey prison last March. When questioned by reporters as he was led away in handcuffs, he denied killing anyone.
The suspect was arraigned and is being held without bail.
Mira Wassef is a digital reporter who has covered news and sports in the NYC area for more than a decade. She has been with PIX11 News for two years. See more of her work here.