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."
Has his brother been deported yet? (I'm assuming he's illegal too!)
His employer should also be run throught he wringer to determined if he can be charged with a crime!
I am wondering that as well. I guess he can always blame Bush.
i guess he's here doing a job that Americans won't do. Murdering!
The more virulent chapters of these gangs will often have new members kill someone at random for no reason as a part of their initiation rites.
There is so much wrong with this story, I don't know where to begin.
He had 12 grand in Ecuador and it wasn't enough to pay off his debts?
I imagine it was more likely a self-fullfillng debt, he went into debt to get here.
Pillco told cops he was renovating an apartment
Right - not many Americans will do this kind of work.
I'd like to see a media campaign that carried each of these deaths on the front pages of the papers day after day,and see how long politicians said that we need to do an amnesty.
I liked it, too. I've seen it several times but I didn't know all the actors names, except Griffin Dunne. I had to look up the movie on www.imdb.com to see which one she was. At first I thought it was the redheaded older sister but then realized it was Griffin Dunne's love interest.
Sounds to me like BCG has set itself up for a nice, juicy lawsuit, since it admits it was aware of his "immigrant status." I wonder if the lame workplace enforcement law will be upheld by the feds against this company.
The only ones in Times Square who would do that would be tourists. Native New Yorkers would hoist him on their shoulders and make a hero out of him.
Wonder if her husband's liberal blog still supports illegal imigration.
At newnation.org you can read about tons of these swine that rape and murder Americans everyday.
My deepest most heartfelt condolenses to Mr. Ostroy and his children.
I'm sorry. I was being unclear. My bad.
My point was that we cannot and should not accept large numbers of illegal aliens in the United States. They have no connection to our society, do not feel bound by our conventions or laws, and often have incentives that lead them to commit additional crimes based on their illegal status.
I guess there are two ways to handle that problem.
One way would be to wave a wand and make them legal. I was not advocating this approach. It would do nothing to assimilate them or make them feel bound by our societal conventions. Furthermore, by eliminating the law as it applies to them, I think it would drive their respect for American law to an even lower level.
The other way would be to get them out of our country. I am advocating this approach.
People who are here should be here legally. If they are not allowed to be here legally, they should not be here.
If the President wants to create guest worker provisions and restrict these guest workers to intermittent agricultural employment, that might be acceptable to me. As long as it is done under legal control of the government, and the workers are here on a month-to-month basis, having a lot of migrant workers out in the countryside might not be a horrible thing.
But there is no reason to bring illegal workers into the construction trades, and into our cities and towns. Last time I checked, I am still paying top dollar for construction work, and I am getting more and more illiterate, non-English-speaking and poorly skilled workers for my money. I don't know where the money is going, but the savings sure aren't being passed on to the customer.
And I'll rake my own damn leaves and scrub my own damn toilets.
Make sure he has a nice bedsheet in the cell with him.
The killer is from Equador. Do they get added to the list too?
nah, he'll blame Bush's policy....or conservatives oppressing him that made him do it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.