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."
I agree, unfortunately it is all bandaids until we gut the welfare state.
sue them all the way down to bloomberg,guiliani etc.
get all those violated by these illegals together and make a good law suit.
That's when the "New and Improved" Congress is sworn in..........
Nah. She was around my age and I'd just barely heard of her; Shelly was the very definition of a "cult favorite".
I hope they string this murderer up, though.
Yeahh, Mussolini him.
"Both parties, R and D alike, are self-serving not people serving."
Amen.
Unless/until people in both parties admit this, and vote accordingly, we will just get more of the same.
Vote accordingly means that incumbents should be endangered species. Not that it would be impossible to be re-elected, just very, very difficult.
I hate liberals...
When someone is in a foreign country and is unfamiliar with the people, the culture, and the system of justice of the nation they are visiting, it is easy to feel that you are safely beyond the reach of those in the host country, that no one knows you are there, that you can come and go as you please, and that no one can find you.
Part of the purpose of assimilating immigrants to a nation they are joining, is to remove this sense of anonymity, of being an invisible roamer, and to instill the sense that each citizen is expected to contribute to the cultural and societal structure of the country and that if they break the rules, that they will be pursued and caught and punished.
You can expect a very high crime rate from illegal slipping across the border. Not only do they embrace criminal behavior in the simple act of coming across the border illegally, they feel they can do whatever they want in this country and slip back across the border to hide, if they so choose, or simply stay here since they are here illegally and can't be tracked down.
"Tell us again about your Amnesty Program, Mr. President?"
I'm afraid the democrats have siezed control of both houses and the executive branch.
Not to hijack the tread, or anything, but people have to realize that illegal aliens have different motivations and a less of a common societal bond than an American, on average. It would not make any sense for an American construction worker to react as Diego Pillco did. But his actions make a certain amount of sense given his immigration status.
If we don't want this sort of thing happening all the time, we should not have such people working in our apartment buildings.
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."
Why was he working at all? I'd fine that construction company for KNOWINGLY hiring an illegal, big time. Make them pay.
And of course, give any fine to Ms. Shelly's family. On top of any lawsuit they file.
If an American construction worker had done this, he would be facing an attempted assault beef and would have been out in time to report to work the next day. The stakes for Diego Pillco were higher, because of his illegal status. That is why he followed her upstairs and the situation escalated.
Mayor Bloomberg just said on the radio that we need 3-400 thousand NEW illegal aliens EVERY YEAR just to function!
Hey, cheer up. They'll be voting Americans soon enough!
LOL! In NYC the TV news always portrays black and hispanic criminals as "honor students."
Thank you.
WOW!
I actually enjoyed that movie. What a horrible story.
Thank you.
The Law & Order episode in which she played a porn actress involved with a mobster and an investment company manager was re-shown just a few days ago. It was a memorable episode because she was such a strikingly lovely and fine actress. A very sad ending for her and loss for us...
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