GUILTY NY - Michelle Lee, 24, NYPD criminologist, brutally murdered, 27 April 2009

[SeriouslySearching]

There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of news out there, but here is a new one I have not seen yet.

http://gothamist.com/2009/04/29/cops_continue_investigation_of_nypd.php

The apartment had no signs of forced entry and police are going through her computer and cell phone records and examining her ex-boyfriends, "including one to whom she had been giving money but had recently cut off."

Bolded by me.

First time I have seen that statement. I have a feeling they are pretty close.

While that does raise a red flag, I would say this had more the markings of someone who knew what they were doing in the staging end of it. If it turns out there was not an actual sexual assault, they should be looking at the roommate and coworkers still, imo. I agree it wasn't random.

The Post adds, "Investigators found very little blood for someone who had been stabbed...[they think] the killer tied her up and burned her to make it look as if she had been tortured or was the victim of a sex crime," stabbing her as she was dying.

http://gothamist.com/2009/04/29/cops_continue_investigation_of_nypd.php (the link for the Post didn't carry over here)

 

[SeriouslySearching]

That's all i can find too. Still looking though. Do we have the roommates name yet?

I haven't found it yet which to me is strange. Normally, they do release such information.

 

[Bobbisangel]

That really bothers me that LE are telling people not to be afraid because they don't think it was a random killing. My point is that LE doesn't know what kind of murder it was. They don't have any suspects at this time. They may have their eyes on a few males that Michele knew but nothing for certain. I hope the folks in that area are really careful of their safety and just use plain ole common sense regardless of what LE is saying.

 

[Ruflossn]

With regards to the roommate, perhaps they have not released her name due to the fact that she / LE are fearful for her safety. The less information known about her may be the goal until they have made an arrest.

 

[NoEWunNoze]

The name of the roommate was revealed in a NY Post article on Wednesday. According to the article which quoted the roommate's mother, she went back to work on Tuesday. That seems odd to go back to work 1 day after finding her roommate murdered. Maybe different people handle things differently but most people I know would request at least 1-2 weeks of time off after seeing a friend/roommate's dead body in a gruesome murder scene.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/04292009/news/regionalnews/csi__ny_mourns_166772.htm
Posted: 2:20 am April 29, 2009
"Lee's roommate, Erica Krantzler, who also works in the crime lab, had been away for the weekend.
Krantzler's mother, Barbara, said her daughter returned to work yesterday.
But "she will never go back to that apartment," Barbara said.
"The memory of what she saw will never go away."

 

[SeriouslySearching]

Thanks and Welcome to WS, NoEWunNoze! I guess they aren't trying to keep out of the media.

I find it odd she went directly back to work especially since their office is covering this murder according to one report. It must be extremely difficult.

 

[jandkmom]

Thanks and Welcome to WS, NoEWunNoze! I guess they aren't trying to keep out of the media.

I find it odd she went directly back to work especially since their office is covering this murder according to one report. It must be extremely difficult.

She may feel safer at work than anywhere else. If they don't know who killed her roommate, I would feel safer in an area at a police dept.

 

[Columbo]

That really bothers me that LE are telling people not to be afraid because they don't think it was a random killing. My point is that LE doesn't know what kind of murder it was. They don't have any suspects at this time. They may have their eyes on a few males that Michele knew but nothing for certain. I hope the folks in that area are really careful of their safety and just use plain ole common sense regardless of what LE is saying.

I wonder if they are just saying they don't have any suspects...maybe they do but don't want to tip the person or persons off. Just an idea.

 

[Bobbisangel]

I wonder if they are just saying they don't have any suspects...maybe they do but don't want to tip the person or persons off. Just an idea.

That could be. But I just hope people are really careful anyway. They can't lose anything by being extra careful but they could lose their lives if the LE is wrong.

 

[Carla Lashelle]

In the Anne Pressly murder everyone said 1) it was someone she knew becuase of the violence and rage 2) siince there was no sign of forced entry, she must have known her killer, etc. In the end it is seeminly a random crime NOT comitted by anyone she knew at all. Just some scum casing her neighborhood...

 

[Pegatha]

The nature of her job is what makes this so interesting to me. It is almost ironic. She wasn't just shot. She was burned, stabbed, strangled. Think of all the forensic evidence that was created by this horrific crime that will need to be investigated. It is almost like, someone who knew something about forensics, wanted to confuse the real cause of death, by throwing in all these different injuries or else generate a lot of work for the criminologists. If it is a disgruntled boyfriend then it is like he did it to throw what she did for a living back in her face. I'm not sure this makes sense but I don't know how to explain it better. It just bugs me.

 

[Jesikah1]

Very interesting Pegatha, I would not have thought of it from this perspective, but perhaps it could point to somebody who was aware of what she did for a living and maybe even was resentful of the job somehow. I just hope the perp is caught, first and foremost for the family and loved ones, but as an aside, I want to know what motive would prompt somebody to do this to Michelle, it is beyond horrific.

 

[Jesikah1]

In the Anne Pressly murder everyone said 1) it was someone she knew becuase of the violence and rage 2) siince there was no sign of forced entry, she must have known her killer, etc. In the end it is seeminly a random crime NOT comitted by anyone she knew at all. Just some scum casing her neighborhood...

That is a good point Carla. It could very well be a sick and twisted person who either created an opportunity to do this to Michelle or took an opportunity that was presented to get her in a vulnerable state; However it seems that it is most probable that she had at least a passing acquaintance with the person who did this, especially since LE has stated it wasn't a random killing, I don't know if that was the case in the Anne Pressly case.

But you are right, when overkill happens, I usually think of it being a personal killing, although there are people out there who make it personal without knowing their victims and kill with this kind of violence just "because".

 

[:+:MrTT:+:]

i wonder, about someone living in the building itself??.......such as a maintenance worker, or another person, whom was working there or living there............
................ALL MOO, NOTHING FACTUAL, JUST SPECULATION ON MY PART.............
...........IF anyone has a picture or link, to the front of the building, name of the apartment perhaps.....please post, i still would like to see it............thankyou

 

[Columbo]

The nature of her job is what makes this so interesting to me. It is almost ironic. She wasn't just shot. She was burned, stabbed, strangled. Think of all the forensic evidence that was created by this horrific crime that will need to be investigated. It is almost like, someone who knew something about forensics, wanted to confuse the real cause of death, by throwing in all these different injuries or else generate a lot of work for the criminologists. If it is a disgruntled boyfriend then it is like he did it to throw what she did for a living back in her face. I'm not sure this makes sense but I don't know how to explain it better. It just bugs me.

I was thinking along these lines, too, which is why I suspected the roommate, who also works in the lab, where she would see injuries like these, and inflict them on Michelle.

 

[NoEWunNoze]

According to the New York Times article linked below, the address of Michelle's building is:

45-23 41st Street
Sunnyside, NY 11104

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/nyregion/28STAB.html?_r=1&partner=MOREOVERNEWS&ei=5040

Google Maps has a street level view of the neighborhood and the building which I've linked to below:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=45-28...cbp=12,94.247597273717,,0,-13.843750000000008

There's a CVS drugstore right on the corner of the block and a North Fork Bank across the street from the CVS so they must have video cameras for surveillance of the area. Directly across the street are residential 1-family houses. The block is also right next to Queens Boulevard which is a very busy stretch of road.

i wonder, about someone living in the building itself??.......such as a maintenance worker, or another person, whom was working there or living there............
................ALL MOO, NOTHING FACTUAL, JUST SPECULATION ON MY PART.............
...........IF anyone has a picture or link, to the front of the building, name of the apartment perhaps.....please post, i still would like to see it............thankyou

 

[:+:MrTT:+:]

According to the New York Times article linked below, the address of Michelle's building is:

45-23 41st Street
Sunnyside, NY 11104

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/nyregion/28STAB.html?_r=1&partner=MOREOVERNEWS&ei=5040

Google Maps has a street level view of the neighborhood and the building which I've linked to below:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=45-28...cbp=12,94.247597273717,,0,-13.843750000000008

There's a CVS drugstore right on the corner of the block and a North Fork Bank across the street from the CVS so they must have video cameras for surveillance of the area. Directly across the street are residential 1-family houses. The block is also right next to Queens Boulevard which is a very busy stretch of road.

very much for posting that information........

different building...
i believe the correct building is futher down the street, for a picture shown on the first day, the crime scene tape was wrapped around trees in front of the building...........but it should be easy to find, since you posted the correct street........thankyou again.
​

 

[shgrbkr]

Since it's reported that there was very little blood for someone who had been stabbed, it seems to me she was probably murdered first. Then she was burned and stabbed. There are a zillion scenarios-- Perhaps another tenant or landlord had developed an obsession with her--in his head, it WOULD be personal, particularly if she rejected him somehow. The ex with cancer doesn't strike me as a likely suspect. If his cancer is indeed terminal, it's probably advanced so far that he couldn't pull off a crime like this very easily (JMO), but the one she had been giving money to and recently cut off sounds more likely to me. He certainly would be angry, and probably manipulative enough to con his way into the house/apt by saying he had money to pay her back or some simpy story about wanting to talk or apologize, show some appreciation--anything to get inside. Perhaps the conversation pi$$ed him off so much that he just got so angry and killed her because he had the opportunity. A conversation with her would certainly include "where's your roommate," thus providing him with the knowledge that she was out of town for the weekend. The gym scenario is also interesting, but I'm leaning towards the moocher for now.

 

[Ruflossn]

Police say Sunnyside residents should not to fear for their own safety following the murder of a 24-year-old woman on Monday.

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20307342&BRD=2731&PAG=461&dept_id=574903&rfi=6

 

[HesterMofet]

exactly my thoughts.. I mean no disresepect but the temperatures in NYC have been in the 80/90 range for 4 days and the decomp would be accelerated as a result.. i cant imagine that the roomate didnt notice...
However it sounds possible as if there was a personal relationship with the victim with no forced entry and possibly no evidence of a stuggle...and in light of the proximity the perp had to be in to the victim and the slow tortorous death

Thanks to Forensic Files for this one: air conditioning can slow down the decomp rate so if the air had been on the whole time, the roommate might not have been able to smell anything.