Authorities are saying that the man accused of killing the woman known as the Queens Jogger may have attacked her because he hated the white neighborhood in which she lived.
The victim, Karina Vetrano, 30, was murdered on August 2, 2016, after she went for a jog through Spring Creek Park in Howard Beach.
Just this month, 20-year-old Chanel Lewis of Brooklyn was taken into custody for allegedly killing Vetrano and now authorities are revealing more of the evidence they have against him.
According to police, the African American suspect refused to speak to white police officers, but when a black officer engaged him he waived his Miranda rights and began talking, the New York Post says.
During his interrogation, police now say that Lewis told them he hates the white people living in the Howard Beach neighborhood.
“I don’t like those people over there,” Lewis allegedly told police.
Lewis was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court last weekend and charged with second-degree murder.
More charges may be on the way, though, as a grand jury is still set to meet to determine if sexual assault charges will be added to the list.
While he admitted he strangled her, Lewis has denied raping the victim.
Lewis will next appear in court on February 21.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
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