What to Know
- A 48-year-old man has been sentenced to 25 to life for pushing a 17-year-old girl off a roof in 1989, killing her after she denied him sex
- Scott Parrilla was 19 years old at the time; witnesses said he was the last to see the victim but lack of evidence prevented an arrest
- The case was reopened in 2015; DNA on file from a rape/attempted murder conviction linked Parrilla to the victim's fingernail scrapings
A 48-year-old man has been sentenced to up to life in prison for throwing a 17-year-old girl off the roof of a five-story New York City building because she wouldn't have sex with him, killing her, nearly three decades ago, the district attorney's office said Wednesday.
Scott Parrilla was found guilty of second-degree murder earlier this month in the Aug. 6, 1989 death of 17-year-old Noelis Bayanilla in the Bronx. Parrilla, who was 19 years old at the time, walked the teenager to her home at about 5 a.m. that day and they went up to the roof of the five-story building on Morris Avenue.
He wanted to have sex and she didn't, prosecutors have said. They started arguing. She tried to get away. Parrilla grabbed her and pushed her off the roof.
Bayanilla died two days later.
Prosecutors say several witnesses confirmed at the time that Parrilla was the last person to be seen with Bayanilla, but he wasn't charged due to lack of evidence. In 2015, a friend of Bayanilla called cops inquiring about the killing and Bronx homicide detectives reopened the case. Fingernail scrapings from Bayanilla were tested and matched DNA from Parrilla that was on file from a 1993 rape and attempted murder conviction in the Bronx. He was arrested March 14, 2016, as he left Rikers Island following a stint for larceny.
“The defendant, who served time in prison for rape and other crimes while the killing of this teenage girl remained unsolved, will now spend many years in prison for taking her life," Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said in a statement Wednesday. "I hope today’s sentence brings some relief to the victim’s family, who spent nearly 30 years painfully waiting for justice for their loved one."
