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Police charge man with murdering 65-year-old roommate who was found dead in East River
By
Brittany Kriegstein
and
Andrew Giambrone
Published Feb 13, 2025
Modified Feb 13, 2025
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Gary Hershorn / Getty Images
By
Brittany Kriegstein
and
Andrew Giambrone
Published Feb 13, 2025
Modified Feb 13, 2025
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A 23-year-old man was arrested and charged with murdering his roommate with a makeshift ice pick and sending his body down the East River in a suitcase, police said on Thursday.
NYPD officials said officers arrested Lower East Side resident Christian Millet around 9 p.m. Wednesday in connection with the death of Edwin Echevarria, 65, whose torso was found last week after a ferry crew spotted the suitcase in the river near Governors Island. Both men lived in the same apartment at NYCHA’s Baruch Houses, according to police.
Echevarria’s daughter Jennifer Matthews said Millet was Echevarria’s ex-girlfriend’s grandson, and that Echevarria was trying to help him by giving him a place to live. But she said she became worried when she heard from other relatives that Millet had beaten up her father, who recently stopped picking up her calls.
“Last time when [Millet] left, I told my dad not to let him back in,” Matthews said in a phone interview. “I didn't find out until my dad was missing that he had moved back in with my father.”
Officials said Echevarria’s death was deemed a homicide and that they were still investigating a potential motive, adding that the men may have had a dispute over food.
Millet was taken into custody and questioned based on a search warrant, according to the NYPD. He has been charged with second-degree murder. His attorney's information was not immediately available.
A missing flyer for Edwin Echevarria, 65, whose body police said was found in a suitcase in the East River, is seen on the Lower East Side on Feb. 13, 2025.
Brittany Kriegstein / Gothamist
Millet stared straight ahead and did not answer reporters’ questions on Thursday morning as he was led out of the NYPD’s 7th Precinct station house on the Lower East Side.
Missing person flyers at the building where police said the two men lived stated that Echevarria was last seen on Feb. 2. Two police officers were stationed outside an apartment on the fifth floor.
“ I was hoping that he's just drunk or in a friend's house,” said Carmen Santiago, a neighbor from down the hall who said she had grown up in the building with Echevarria and his family. “ I can't believe it. I see his smile.”
Police walk Christian Millet, 23, into a car outside of an NYPD station on their way to court on Feb. 13, 2025.
Brittany Kriegstein / Gothamist
Echevarria had spent most of his life working for the post office, Matthews said. She added that her father retired several months ago and often came to visit her in North Carolina, where she had joined the Marine Corps.
“He was a very caring, loving, funny person,” she said. “He always loved helping people, and that’s what he was trying to do for his ex-girlfriend’s grandson — trying to be a positive father figure to him.”
Police data shows homicides are relatively rare in the NYPD’s 7th Precinct on the Lower East Side, where Millet was arrested. The precinct recorded one killing from Jan. 1 to Feb. 9 this year, up from zero in the same period last year, according to the data.
This is a developing story based on preliminary information from police and has been updated.
Tagged
new york city
public safety
manhattan
governors island
east river
Brittany Kriegstein
Brittany Kriegstein covers all breaking news around New York City, with a focus on crime and gun violence. Got a tip? Email Brittany at [email protected].
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Andrew Giambrone
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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