Sandra Coto Navarro is escorted by police after being arrested for murder, Jan. 16, 2024 (WABC).
A woman in New York was taken into custody after the discovery of her apartment building’s superintendent’s body concealed in a trash bag beneath a bed in her residence. The superintendent had visited to collect substantial overdue rent payments.
Sandra Coto Navarro, aged 48, is charged with second-degree murder, altering physical evidence, and possessing a weapon in the fourth degree in connection with the demise of 55-year-old Jose Portillo.
The incident came to light when the property owner of an apartment on 70th Avenue in Kew Gardens Hills reviewed surveillance footage showing Portillo entering the apartment but not exiting. Subsequently, the property owner alerted emergency services, as per sources acquainted with the inquiry cited by the New York Post.
Police found Portillo’s body in bags under the bed in the unit. He had reportedly been hit over the head and stabbed in the neck and leg.
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Portillo’s wife showed up at a police station on Thursday as police were escorting Navarro out.
“You killed my husband!” the victim’s wife yelled at Navarro in Spanish, amNewYork Metro reported.
The alleged murder happened after Portillo had gone to the suspect’s apartment to collect $24,000 in back rent, local ABC affiliate WABC reported. The suspect’s husband, reportedly not home at the time, does not face charges.
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A neighbor said she heard something about a rent dispute.
“The guy was looking to collect rent from someone that night and asking about them,” the neighbor said, according to the Post. “I’m not sure if it was for the suspect or someone else, but he was looking out for someone.”
Neighbors were shocked over the death of the man they knew as the super for decades.
“He has children,” one told the Post. “He is divorced. He was always willing to help people in need with any problems. He was a good man.”
