Two suspects on the run were apprehended by the US Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force in York, Pennsylvania, in connection with the homicide of 52-year-old Nadia Vitel, whose body was discovered in a duffel bag in her upscale Manhattan apartment last week, two senior law enforcement officials said Friday.
The individuals, a 19-year-old and a 16-year-old, are now facing charges related to Vitel's death. Specifics on the charges weren't immediately clear, nor were details regarding their capture.
The apprehension comes a day after NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny disclosed that the case had broadened to include events in Pennsylvania following a vehicular crash involving the two suspects, who were seen on video leaving the 19th-floor apartment on East 31st Street where Vitel's body was found.
Investigators made the grim discovery when they conducted a wellness check at the Kips Bay apartment. Vitel hadn't been seen since returning to New York earlier this month to oversee her late mother's apartment. Detectives said she had just returned from traveling and went to the apartment, believing it was vacant, to prep it for a friend to move in.
Officials say the apartment had been vacant for months, and Vitel likely encountered squatters -- including the two just apprehended -- when she returned to the property. Video shows her going inside, and the two suspects coming out.
The medical examiner's office ruled her death a homicide by blunt force trauma of the head.
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Investigators have been meticulously reconstructing Vitel's movements in the days leading to her death, with surveillance footage capturing her activities around her building on March 10 and the suspects entering shortly after, only to be seen leaving on March 12 in Vitel's stolen vehicle.
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They allegedly drove it over the George Washington Bridge, then crashed it in Lower Paxton Township, Pennsylvania.
The aftermath of the crash provided law enforcement with vital leads to apprehend the suspects, despite initial delays caused by local police not running the vehicle's plates immediately.
The investigation's breadth extended to a search warrant executed at Vitel's apartment and an examination of the garbage receptacle area, uncovering personal items belonging to Vitel.
The luxury 19th-floor apartment, characterized by its direct elevator access into its vestibule, highlighted the privacy and exclusivity of the residence, juxtaposing the violation that occurred within its walls. The direct elevator access also allowed squatters to come and go as they pleased, officials have said.
