Murder charges for Chad Irish in NYC killing of Yazmeen Williams in Kips Bay
NEW YORK CITY - Chad Irish, the NYC man police charged with concealing the body of Yazmeen Williams in a sleeping bag on a Kips Bay sidewalk, is now facing upgraded charges of murder, the NYPD said.
Irish, 55, denied knowing Yazmeen, the 31-year-old woman who investigators have now accused him of killing. He's been charged with second degree murder in connection with the death.
"I didn't do it," Irish said to the press as he was wheeled out of the 13th Precinct on Wednesday in Gramercy Park. "I didn't hurt anybody."
The body of Yazmeen was found last Friday stuffed into a sleeping bag and left out with the trash on East 27th Street. The New York City medical examiner's office determined she died from a gunshot wound to the head. Her death was ruled a homicide.
Who is Chad Irish?
Irish was initially charged with concealment of a human corpse, but the charges were upgraded on Wednesday. He's also been charged with two counts each of menacing and criminal possession of a weapon in relation to a different incident.
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.
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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.
In a Daily News report, which cited a high-ranking police source, investigators are looking into whether Yazmeen 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.
Surveillance video obtained by the New York Post shows a man in an electric wheelchair dragging Yazmeen's body to the curb.
Irish is currently in central booking and could face a judge as soon as Thursday.
Who was Yazmeen Williams?
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.
Investigators are looking into whether Yazmeen had any connection to Irish. The Post reports her mother, Nicole Williams, said Irish knew her daughter, but that remains unclear. A motive for the killing remains unknown.
A candlelight memorial still sits at the site where Yazmeen’s body was discarded. For her family, the murder charge is one step toward accountability, but her mother says justice won't be served until the day Irish is sentenced in court.
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.
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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.
Irish was being transferred to a gurney when a crowd of angry community members gathered, screaming and trying to attack him.
Video showed 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.
Irish pled his innocence with the angry crowd, before being loaded into the ambulance, which drove away from the scene.