NEW YORK CITY — A woman has been charged in the death of a New York City superintendent reportedly killed while attempting to collect late rent.
Sandra Coto Navarro, aged 48, faces charges of murder, tampering with evidence, and illegal possession of a weapon in connection to the incident. Following the charges, she was observed with handcuffs on her wrists and a smirk on her face.
Neighbors at Navarro’s Queens apartment building were stunned by the allegations she is now facing.
“She was always sweet honestly. She was very, very sweet. I’m just a little surprised by this whole thing,” one neighbor said.
Authorities believe the superintendent, identified as 55-year-old Jose Portillo, was struck over the head and stabbed in the neck and leg.
Portillo’s body was discovered in garbage bags and stuffed under a bed Wednesday.
Officials say Navarro and her husband owed about $24,000 in back rent and they had not paid in years.
According to the police, the superintendent’s employer dispatched him to the residence to collect overdue rent. Concerned after not hearing from the superintendent, the employer alerted the authorities for a welfare check.
Police investigations, including surveillance footage analysis, revealed that Navarro’s husband was at his workplace throughout the day. He returned home just 20 minutes before the police arrived and cooperated by disclosing the victim’s whereabouts. The husband, however, will not face any charges in this case.
The medical examiner said Portillo’s cause of death was homicidal violence.
People who live at the apartment building on 70th Avenue said he used to be the gardener and then became the super — he was a friendly man who would stop to talk to people.
Many in the neighborhood said they knew him and relied on him for years.
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