NEW YORK -- The New York Police Department have charged a man in connection with the killing last August of a jogger near her home in Queens.
Chanel Lewis, 20, was charged with second-degree murder, police said. He faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted. He is expected to be arraigned Sunday night.
Still, Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce called it a "good day for justice in New York City."
DNA evidence links Lewis to the crime scene and victim Karina Vetrano, 30, who disappeared while jogging in her neighborhood, Boyce said. Her body was found by police and her father. She had been strangled and sexually assaulted.
Police said it does not seem Lewis knew Vetrano and that her death resulted from a chance encounter.
Boyce said police followed 250 leads from the public, and filed 1,700 investigative reports.
Lewis made detailed incriminating statements, Boyce said. Lewis does not have any criminal arrest history but has a number of summonses in and around the area. He also made detailed incriminating statements, Boyce said.
