The woman found dead inside a sleeping bag on a Manhattan sidewalk last week had been seen alive, on surveillance video, throwing out trash in her apartment building late last month -- but she was never seen leaving the floor, according to a criminal complaint obtained Thursday.
Yazmeen Williams was spotted in her East 28th Street building in Kips Bay around 1:45 p.m. on June 30. She had been wearing black shorts and black high-top sneakers with a white sole.
The complaint says she wasn't seen leaving the floor via the elevator or the stairwell. It also says she was never seen on video leaving the building itself prior to the discovery of her body on July 5.
Four days prior to that, on the evening of June 26, prosecutors allege surveillance video shows Williams in a hallway arguing with a man who appears to be seated in a wheelchair just inside an apartment. He allegedly says, "I will shoot you," according to the complaint. It's not clear what may have prompted the dispute.
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Prosecutors identify that man in the wheelchair as Chad Irish.
They alleged Irish murdered her, charging him with that crime along with concealment of a human corpse in the death of Williams, whose body was found Friday among a heap of designated trash collectibles.
Her death was ruled a homicide. It's not clear how long her body was in the sleeping bag before the grisly discovery.
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Video and photos shared on social media show what appears to be a full-sized body covered in a dark sleeping bag that was further wrapped in black trash bags. Sources told NBC New York that surveillance video appeared to show a person in an electric wheelchair pulling the sleeping bag in tow. Investigators allege that to be Irish.
The 55-year-old Irish also is accused of weapon possession in this case, according to police. He was remanded following his arraignment Thursday. He denied wrongdoing when asked by reporters on his way to court if he committed any.
Irish is being represented by Legal Aid, which typically doesn't comment on ongoing cases.
Irish was recently paroled in 2022 after a conviction on robbery charges. This isn't the first time he's faced a murder charge: Investigators said he allegedly blew up a house as his uncle walked inside in 1994.
Crowds on Monday tried to attack Irish as he was being arrested in connection with Williams' death. Officers and ambulance staff held the mob of dozens back while punches were thrown, as others were seen spitting on him. Tensions were high until the man was put into an ambulance and taken to a nearby hospital.
"How inhumane — you're dragging down the block somebody's daughter," New York City Mayor Eric Adams said at a press conference Tuesday. "He should be lucky that the police got him before that. Be lucky that the police got him before that community."
The victim's mother, Nicole Williams, was there when he was led away.
"He’s disgusting…he looks like scum," said Williams. "They were angry. He...threw my daughter in a garbage bag."
Irish is due back in court Friday, the complaint indicated.
