N.Y. tenant allegedly killed super and put his body in garbage bags after failing to pay rent

NEW YORK (TCN) — A woman faces multiple charges after allegedly killing her building’s 55-year-old superintendent and trying to dismember him.

According to the Queens District Attorney’s Office, on the morning of Jan. 14, Jose Portillo went to Sandra Coto-Navarro’s apartment to collect unpaid rent on behalf of the landlord. Portillo’s co-workers called law enforcement later that day after he failed to answer his phone.

Responding officers spoke with Coto-Navarro, who claimed Portillo went to her home, and she paid him $23,000 before he exited. Police obtained and reviewed surveillance footage that didn’t show Portillo leaving the apartment.

According to prosecutors, police returned to Coto-Navarro’s residence, where they discovered Portillo’s body wrapped in clothing and trash bags under a bed. Officers also noticed a “strong odor of bleach and observed a mop and what appeared to be blood near the bottom of the bed and by a dresser in the bedroom.”

Investigators determined Portillo suffered multiple blunt force injuries to his head, and Coto-Navarro allegedly put a bag over his head, causing his death. The district attorney’s office said the victim also sustained sharp force injuries to his neck and leg after he died. Police arrested Coto-Navarro at the scene.

Coto-Navarro appeared in court for her arraignment on Jan. 16 on charges of second-degree murder, two counts of tampering with physical evidence, and criminal possession of a weapon. She faces up to 25 years to life if convicted.

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz called it “a gruesome murder,” adding, “As alleged, the defendant not only murdered the superintendent trying to collect rent, but attempted to dismember the lifeless victim, wrapped his body in black garbage bags and tried bleaching the area. Now, a life has been lost and a family is in upheaval because the defendant allegedly chose to resolve a rent dispute with violence.”

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