Chanel Lewis, a 22-year-old man who confessed to sexually assaulting and murdering Queens jogger Karina Vetrano in 2016, has been found guilty of all four charges against him.
According to reports, Lewis — of East New York, Brooklyn — sexually assaulted and murdered Karina Vetrano before dumping her body in Spring Creek Park on August 2, 2016. Additionally, her cell phone was found thrown in the weeds “about 15 to 20 feet from her body.”
Lewis was convicted on all four counts after the jury deliberated for just five hours on Monday, April 1.
He has been found guilty of one count of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder and one count aggravated sexual abuse.
However, Robert Moeller, a Legal Aid Society lawyer for Lewis, says that his client did not receive a fair trial and accused investigators of “ignoring the facts” and claimed that they “never once looked at another possibility” after identified Lewis as a suspect, according to the New York Post.
“Our client did not receive a fair trial. We will appeal immediately to a court that can afford Mr. Lewis the fair review he has thus far been denied,” the Legal Aid Society said in a statement following the guilty verdict.
As Lewis’ guilty verdict was announced, friends, family, and loved ones of Verano’s could be heard applauding the jury’s decision.
Philip Vetrano, Karina’s father, said he felt “jubilation” following the guilty verdict.
“Justice — justice has been served,” Vetrano told reporters.
Lewis will return to Queens Criminal Court for a sentencing hearing on Wednesday, April 17.
That is all the information that is available at this time. This article will be updated with new and relevant information should it become available at any time. If there is anything that we missed, please feel free to send an email to editor@teamcoed.com and we will respond as soon as possible.