Posted on 11/10/2006 7:40:00 AM PST by Conservomax
The construction worker accused of killing indie actress .Adrienne Shelly tied a sheet around her neck, dragged the unconscious woman to a bathroom - and strung her up while she was still breathing, sources said yesterday.
Then 19-year-old illegal immigrant Diego Pillco fled the West Village building and calmly went to work at another job site - leaving her to die in what originally appeared to be a suicide, the sources said.
"This woman did not die from a strike to her head," Assistant District Attorney Marit DeLozier said as Pillco was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court.
Pillco "fought with the victim, tied a sheet around her neck and dragged her to the bathroom and hanged her from the curtain rod," DeLozier said.
Calling the case against the suspect "strong," DeLozier said the medical examiner "made it clear, crystal clear, that this victim died from compression to her neck."
"The defendant killed the victim and made it look like a suicide, which is especially egregious," she said.
Pillco told cops he was renovating an apartment directly below the flat Shelly used as an office last Wednesday when she came down to complain about the noise and they got into a screaming match.
The Ecuadoran immigrant confessed he threw a hammer at the 40-year-old married mom and - fearing that he might be deported - followed her upstairs when she threatened to call police, he told cops.
When they reached her door, Pillco said Shelly slapped him and he knocked her out with a punch. Then, unable to detect a heartbeat, Pillco said he dragged her to the bathroom to stage a suicide, sources said.
But in doing so, Pillco stood on the toilet and left behind a sneaker print that cops used to tie him to the cold-blooded crime, sources said.
Pillco said nothing at the hearing and did not enter a plea.
His Legal Aid lawyer, Thomas Klein, asked that the slightly built suspect be placed in protective custody and on suicide watch - standard procedure for high profile prisoners.
Meanwhile, Shelly's heartbroken husband, Andrew Ostroy, who had insisted that his wife would never kill herself, was left to mourn the actress, best known for roles in indie hits like "Trust," "Teresa's Tattoo" and last year's "Factotum."
"He's still in shock," a family friend said. "I don't know if he'll ever get over this."
The 47-year-old marketing executive who runs a liberal blog was holed up in his Tribeca loft with the couple's 2-year-old daughter, Sophie. In Jericho, L.I., where Shelly grew up, her mother, Elaine Langbaum, sat shiva.
Pillco worked for a Brooklyn-based construction firm called the BCG, which issued a statement saying the suspect worked only part time "because of his immigrant status."
Pillco lived with his brother, Wilson, in the basement of a building on the outskirts of Park Slope owned by his employer. And residents said he worked every day of the week except Saturday - and then toiled as the building's unofficial super.
Neighbor Delmi Restituyo, 32, said Pillco told her he paid $12,000 to get smuggled into the U.S. in July. "He worked so hard to support his family and pay off his debt," said Restituyo, 32.
At the Abingdon Square building where Shelly was murdered, some residents remembered Pillco differently. "I was walking down the stairs and I felt his stare," said Sara Moore, 72. "Only a woman would know."
Imagine if all the people who have been harmed - physically, economically and psychologically - by the illegals got together in a big CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT.
Any lawyers out there? Is this possible? Is there any basis for suing our own government for failing to enforce the law?
Is everybody looking forward to the amnesty the president is set to sign next year? I know I can't wait.
Plus he needs a driving license, free health care, free
tuition for himself and his kids....and if his country
opposes the death penalty we can't execute him, and we'll
just pay for his living expenses for the rest of his
life.
How egalitarian, and what a feel good story. Thanks
illegal and I mean "illegal" immigaration supporters.
Great idea. That way we get our money back. and brankrupt
the bureaucrats.
Can you imagine how her family feels? I don't want to hear from the "open borders people" - this is what they have given us.
I need my job - but when nobody is looking, I give them the finger. These people are so sick and their values are terrible. When the dust clears, I will start to fight back.
"Slightly built suspect" - oh, poor baby! I hope somebody makes him their wife in prison. Even in prison they don't like people who murder women.
I see "ripped from the headlines" again - L & O or Special Victims Unit will have this crime as an episode. It is probably difficult for the family to think of this happening, but the producer, Dick Wolf, is shameless. He will exploit this for everything it is worth. Since he is such a lib, he will probably have the perp as the victim.
A new conservative being born if the definition holds.
A conservative is a liberal who's been mugged. In this case the husband lost his wife to a "poor needy illegal"
And bringing disease and crime with them. You come here as a LEGAL immigrant you need a physical, not so these illegals. Then the states are stuck with the cost of their illnesses and, often, prolific breeding.
"19 year old" . . . and already a murderer! I am sickened by this.
Tell that to the libs who just won the election!
she was 5'2"
How much do you want to bet that when that ridiculously long lived over rated formulaic piece of crap (want to know how I really feel?) show Law and Order does a "ripped from the headlines" episode on this, they'll somehow fineagle the plot to have the perp be a white guy and have teh Latino be framed.
IMO, we're at a point in America's history where the American people have to make some hard choices for our survival and that includes illegal aliens destroying us. The "snow job" the Liberals did on the American people on Tuesday won't last that long; not if we want to survive as a free nation.
It took a brave guy to kill a woman of that height (which is also my height). What a creep!
Very rarely do illegals actually pay smugglers in money. Many smuggle in drugs to pay their way. The smuggling of drugs and illegals is a joint business on the border. The other way illegals get in is to pay a down payment to the smuggler; then family that is already here pays the difference when the illegal is delivered. Smugglers have been caught holding illegals for the payment if relatives don't cough it up on arrival.
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