Two teenagers were arrested after a woman was discovered dead in a duffel bag in a New York City apartment last week.
The woman was identified as 52-year-old Nadia Vitel. Earlier this month, she went to check on her late mother’s Manhattan apartment, which had been empty for months, according to two senior law enforcement sources.
The teenagers, identified as 19-year-old Halley Tejada and a 16-year-old, were unlawfully occupying the apartment. NBC News does not usually identify minors accused of crimes.
Vitel’s body was found on March 14 after a wellness check at the Kips Bay apartment, police said. Her cause of death was blunt force trauma of the head, according to the New York City Chief Medical Examiner’s Office.
Investigators found surveillance footage showing Vitel’s movements around the apartment building on March 10 and the teenagers entering the building shortly after. Investigators also found items belonging to Vitel in the building’s garbage receptacle area.
Tejada and the 16-year-old are seen leaving the building on March 12, when they allegedly stole Vitel’s car. They drove to New Jersey and eventually crashed in Lower Paxton Township, Pennsylvania, according to the law enforcement sources.
The crash led to the arrest of the teenagers by the U.S. Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force in York, Pennsylvania, per the law enforcement sources.
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