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."
That old statement is a myth. Doesn't happen!
Liberals who get mugged do not become conservatives. They blame Bush!
I work with a bunch of libs too, for a liberal non profit. I need my job too, but it some times liberally makes me ill. Freep mail me in private and we can share horror stories! I won't divulge more here because DUmmies could be lurking...
I see by his blog the husband still holds strong leftist views.
Crickets...
it needs to be just ended, all participants are laid off permanently and go find a job.
Most elected officials in DC, think they are royalty. They do NOT have to answer to us, because most of us don't scare them enough. We all speak different languages, and are so darn busy working and shuffling kids everywhere we don't pay attention to what is really going on.
I heard a pre-election ad on the radio that stated there were more Americans killed last year by illegal aliens than we had combat losses in Iraq.
YES!
hey, maybe I should rent mine out too. Passive income. Sounds like a cool idea.
Then I can work in a part time job in the 'casual economy' as Loretta Sanchez calls it. The other poor B''' can pay taxes and I can reap the SS benes when I am ready to retire...
I hope at least that the widower has awoken from his dream world.
I don't think he has. I just read his blog and he was congratulating his readership over taking the house and senate! Sigh...
HE is making it very difficult to feel sympathy for him by his being so DUMB!!!!!!
Illegal immigrant worker sentenced in NYC slaying of actress Adrienne Shelly
Not any more...
Perhaps 5'2", slender women should call the building manager to complain, rather than directly picking fights with men from a macho culture who can't stand to be humiliated by anyone female. Liberal women seem to let political correctness and feminist egotism blind all of their instincts for self-preservation.
It's no excuse for what this guy did, of course, but it isn't like he broke into her house at random. It sounds like she escalated the situation unnecessarily, and forgot that this clown wasn't some wimpy Hollywood beta male from her usual circles. There's never a need to get into a screaming match with anyone - if the guy was uncooperative, take it to the building security officer.
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