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Bronx man arrested for allegedly concealing dead woman in Kips Bay, per NYPD
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Jul 9, 2024
Modified Jul 9, 2024
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Charles Lane / Gothamist
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Jul 9, 2024
Modified Jul 9, 2024
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Police have arrested a 55-year-old man from the Bronx in connection with the death of a 31-year-old woman found wrapped in a sleeping bag in Kips Bay with a gunshot wound to her head last Friday, according to the NYPD.
Chad Irish was taken into custody on Monday night and charged with concealment of a human corpse, police said. A spokesperson for the NYPD said tracking down Irish was straightforward, as it involved a combination of tipsters and clear surveillance footage of him.
Police continued to investigate the case on Tuesday, and the charges announced so far do not include murder.
Neighbors interviewed by Gothamist on Monday recalled seeing the sleeping bag in front of the residential building at 207 East 27th St. and smelling the stench of decay. Police later identified the woman discovered inside the bag as Manhattan resident Yazmeen Williams and said the city’s medical examiner had deemed her death a homicide.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said police reviewed surveillance footage showing a person in a wheelchair dragging the sleeping bag out of the building, with several neighbors stopping to hold the door for him.
Video posted to social media on Monday evening shows chaos erupting in front of 224-226 East 28th St., a NYCHA building just around the corner from where Williams’ body was found.
The footage also shows several police officers taking a man on a gurney into custody. They are surrounded by a crowd and several people lunge at the man while police make their way to an ambulance on the street.
"Several people from the neighborhood were quite angry with Mr. Irish over this incident and they surrounded him and he produced a pistol and menaced them," Kenny said on Tuesday. "He then fled the location back to his apartment, where he was placed under arrest by detectives and patrol."
In the video, a woman is heard saying, “You killed my daughter, you killed Yazmeen,” as police bring the man into the ambulance.
In a joint statement from state Sen. Kristen Gonzalez, state Assemblymember Harvey Epstein and City Councilmember Carlina Rivera described Williams as a graduate of SUNY Buffalo with a degree in criminal justice who had just begun her career working for the New York City Housing Authority.
"The loss of someone so deeply committed to the wellbeing of her neighbors is immeasurable," the joint statement said. "This tragedy has left a void in the hearts of all those who knew and loved her."
This story has been updated with new information.
Bahar Ostadan contributed reporting.
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Catalina Gonella
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