Kips Bay murder: Who is Chad Irish? Questions surround NYC death of Yazmeen Williams
Charges filed in Kips Bay murder
Chad Irish, the person of interest taken into custody in NYC after the body of Yazmeen Williams was found inside a Kips Bay sleeping bag, has been charged in connection to the killing, the NYPD said. But still, there seems to be more questions than answers at this point. FOX 5 NY's Briella Tomassetti has the latest.
NEW YORK CITY - The Kips Bay murder of Yazmeen Williams in NYC is still bringing up more questions. While a person of interest has not been charged with her murder, 55-year-old Chad Irish has been charged with concealing her body.
The body of the 31-year-old was found stuffed into a sleeping bag on a sidewalk last Friday in front of a building on East 27th Street.
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Yazmeen Williams found dead inside bag in Kips Bay: Did she know her killer?
Investigators are looking into whether Yazmeen had any connection to the man taken into custody.
The medical examiner's office determined her cause of death was a gunshot wound to her head, and her death was ruled a homicide.
Who is Chad Irish?
According to the New York Post, Irish has 21 prior arrests. He reportedly served three years in prison for an attempted arson case dating all the way back to 1994.
"How inhumane you're dragging down the block, somebody's daughter," NYC Mayor Eric Adams said on Tuesday. "You know, he should be lucky that the police got him before that community."
In a Daily News report, which cited a high-ranking police source, investigators are looking into whether Williams was staying at Irish's apartment at the time she was killed.
The paper alleges there was some sort of dispute over drugs leading up to her death. Police, however, have yet to hand down a murder charge.
"It's going to take its course and the criminal justice system should bring justice and closure to the family," Adams said.
Sources say surveillance video showed a man in an electric wheelchair dragging Williams’ body to the curb. Irish was also charged with two counts each of menacing and criminal possession of a weapon in relation to a different incident.
Who was Yazmeen Williams?
FOX 5 NY's Arthur Chi'en reports her family is convinced Yazmeen knew her killer. Her mother, Nicole Williams, described her as an angel and said that she meant everything to her.
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Yazmeen Williams found dead inside bag in Kips Bay: Did she know her killer?
Investigators are looking into whether Yazmeen had any connection to the man taken into custody.
Yazmeen studied criminal justice at Buffalo State University. She has a twin brother, and her father was supposed to be flying in to see her Monday, her mother told The New York Post.
"She meant everything to me. That was my baby," her mother said.
Investigators are looking into whether Yazmeen had any connection to the man taken into custody. The Post reports Nicole said the man in the wheelchair knew her daughter, but that remains unclear. A motive for the killing remains unknown.
A small memorial was arranged for Yazmeen on the sidewalk where her body was found.
On Tuesday, the mayor, along with city officials, reacted to the murder, confirming Yazmeen was about to start a job with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
Angry mob attacks Irish
Meanwhile, on Monday, anger over the killing boiled into Kips Bay when the NYPD took Irish into custody just around the corner from where Yazmeen's body was found.
The man, who uses a wheelchair, was being transferred to a gurney when a crowd of angry community members gathered, screaming and trying to attack him.
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Angry mob attacks person of interest in NYC killing of woman found in sleeping bag: VIDEO
Sources tell FOX 5 NY that a person of interest is in custody in connection to the murder of 31-year-old Yazmeen Williams last week.
Video shows family and friends of Yazmeen unleashing their fury as police and EMTs desperately try to fend them off. Several people punched him, while others could be heard begging the crowd to kill him and trying to tear his shirt from his body.
The man pled his innocence with the angry crowd, before being loaded into the ambulance, which drove away from the scene.