Queens, New York.Authorities said Thursday that a Queens woman has been charged with second-degree murder for the suspected murder of her building superintendent, who had broken into her Kew Gardens Hills apartment to collect past-due rent.
The 48-year-old Sandra Coto-Navarro is charged with killing Jose Portillo, 55, whose body was found by police in her apartment concealed beneath a bed and wrapped in trash bags. According to reports, Portillo visited Coto-Navarro’s home on Tuesday at approximately 8:40 a.m. to collect outstanding rent on the landlord’s behalf.
Melinda Katz, the district attorney for Queens, stated in a statement that this was a horrific murder. In addition to killing the superintendent in an attempt to collect rent, the defendant allegedly tried to dismember the deceased, wrapped his body in black waste bags, and bleached the surroundings. Now, a family is in turmoil and a life has been lost because the defendant allegedly decided to use violence to settle a rent disagreement.
Authorities added that after Portillo failed to show up for work and could not be reached by phone, his coworkers called the NYPD at approximately 5:00 p.m. According to police, Portillo entered Coto-Navarro’s apartment but never left, according to building video footage.
Officers entered the apartment and discovered Portillo’s body beneath the bed, along with blood surrounding the bed and dresser and a strong bleach odor. According to the Medical Examiner’s Office, Portillo died as a result of having a bag placed over his head and repeated blunt force injuries to his head. Sharp force wounds to his neck and leg were among the post-mortem injuries.
Judge Vidya Pappachan of Queens Criminal Court arraigned Coto-Navarro late Thursday evening on counts of criminal possession of a weapon, tampering with physical evidence, and second-degree murder. If found guilty, she could spend 25 years to life in jail after being ordered into custody.
