Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Slain Jogger's Earphones, Sneaker Found In Howard Beach Park
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 6, 2016
Modified Aug 6, 2016
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
View all 7
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 6, 2016
Modified Aug 6, 2016
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Investigators discovered a sneaker and earphones belonging to Karina Vetrano, the jogger who was strangled and raped in a Queens marshland park. The news came yesterday as friends and family held a wake for her. A family friend said, "The person who did this was evil. They don't deserve to live on this earth."
The Post reports, "The single blue and gold New Balance sneaker and the earphones were found far apart in the vast Spring Creek Park, leaving investigators to believe that the savage murderer threw Vetrano’s belongings during the Tuesday attack, sources said." The Post also adds that evidence with "strong potential for DNA discovery" was recovered
At Spring Creek Park (Richard York
Vetrano, 30, was killed on Tuesday night, during her routine 5 p.m. run through Howard Beach. Her father who usually accompanied her, but didn't due to a back injury, called the police when she didn't return home or answer her phone. At 11 p.m., police tracked her cellphone to Spring Creek Park near 161 Avenue and 78 Street; her father, who had joined the search, was the first to see his daughter's body.
The medical examiner said that Vetrano was strangled, and police sources have said that she was brutally beaten, with her teeth knocked out, and sexually assaulted. Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said that she "put up a ferocious fight right until the end." Her hands were clutching weeds from the overgrown area.
Police borrowed an FBI drone to survey the area as dozens of officers combed the area for evidence.
The reward is now at $10,000 (Richard York
Vetrano, who had a master's in speech pathology from St. John's and was working at Vetro Restaurant and Wine Bar, had recently been a bridesmaid for her friend Alicia Scavetta. Scavetta's father Frank told PIX 11 that he called his daughter on her honeymoon to tell her about Vetrano's death, so she could hear it from him first instead of via social media, "She said, 'It's impossible. I was speaking to her every day. I was texting her last night.'... My daughter's in shock. Even my wife, too. Everyone's in shock. When you see someone who's full of life at 30 years old go like that, it's hard."
There is currently a $10,000 reward for information leading the police to an arrest in the case. A resident said, "You never know what's in those weeds. I would say it's dangerous."
Another neighbor said, "We’re all frightened now because we don’t know what to expect. We don’t feel safe in our own neighborhood anymore."
A funeral is being held for Vetrano today in Howard Beach. A family friend told NBC New York that they spoke to her father at the wake. "I said to him, 'Phil, for the first time, I don't know what to say.' He says, 'You can't say anything.'"
Tagged
howard beach
karina vetrano
murder
philip vetrano
queens
spring creek park
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
ICE agent fires 7 rounds, shoots man in neck in NYC's Marble Hill, NYPD says
Police say the man arrived at a hospital in stable condition and a 5-year-old boy in his SUV is safe.
By
Giulia Heyward
and
Arya Sundaram
Published Oct 8, 2026 at 5:33 p.m. ET
Modified Oct 8, 2026 at 11:48 p.m. ET
Lazy drivers in Prospect Heights lose chance for 1 less day of alternate-side parking
A pilot found that drivers actually complied with alternate-side less when fewer days were in effect.
By
Liam Quigley
News
Lazy drivers in Prospect Heights lose chance for 1 less day of alternate-side parking
A pilot found that drivers actually complied with alternate-side less when fewer days were in effect.
By
Liam Quigley
Jersey City mayor shakes up staff amid $255M budget gap
By
Michael Sol Warren
Bronx residents will be exempt from new Medicaid work rule, state officials say
By
Caroline Lewis
MTA chair accuses Andy Byford, who's leading Penn Station rebuild, of going 'full MAGA'
By
Stephen Nessen
and
Carol Chen
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .