Teen makes grisly find of mother's body stuffed in duffle bag; multi-state manhunt launched to nab squatters in alleged murder

Two squatters are suspected of carrying out a brutal murder of a woman in New York City, according to police. A multi-state manhunt has been launched to catch the suspected killers.

Nadia Vitel flew from Spain to New York City to prep the Manhattan apartment of her late mother so a family friend could move in, according to the New York Post. Vitel's mother passed away months ago, and her apartment had been vacant for about three to four months.

Investigators say Vitel went to her mother's apartment and was ambushed by two squatters living inside the unit. The suspects — a man and a woman — allegedly threw Vitel into a sheetrock wall.

"We believe that some squatters took the apartment over and this woman came home ... and walked in on the squatters that were there," said NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.

Kenny noted that the apartment in the Kips Bay neighborhood is "upscale."

"The apartment itself is very unique in that there’s no front door to apartment. You take an elevator up and then you key your way in. The elevator is actually your front door,” Kenny stated.

Paramedics pronounced Vitel dead at the scene.

The suspects allegedly stole Vitel's Lexus and drove to New Jersey and then Pennsylvania. Police located the crashed Lexus in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Vitel's teen son became worried about his mother after not hearing from his mother for two days and went to his grandmother's apartment on March 14. He believed his mother was at the apartment because they tracked each other's locations via a cellphone app.

Michael Medvedev, 19, went to the apartment with the building's superintendent and family members. Suddenly, the son made a grisly discovery.

Kenny explained, "As they’re getting ready to leave, the son opens up the closet door near the front door and discovers the duffel bag with a foot sticking out."

Inside the duffle bag was the dead body of Medvedev's mother.

Jean Pompee, the building's superintendent, told WCBS-TV, "The male pointed to the closet, he said he believed that there's a body in the bag. And all of her clothes were down, so you really couldn't see the bag. You could see partially, a little bit."

Officials said Vitel died from blunt force trauma to the head, suffered multiple facial fractures, a brain bleed, and two broken ribs.

A multi-state manhunt is underway to find the squatter suspects.

Police said the suspects visited several car dealerships in Pennsylvania after wrecking the Lexus and attempted to purchase a new vehicle for $1,000.

The NYPD said the suspects are a man and woman in their 20s. One of the squatters allegedly has a prior arrest.

"As of right now, we have probable cause, we have two subjects, we have the Regional Fugitive Task Force actively hunting as we speak,” Kenny said.

Squatters suspected of murder in luxury NYC building, putting woman in duffle bag | NBC New Yorkwww.youtube.com

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