Assassination of Karina Vetrano: Brooklyn man sentenced to life in prison

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The authorities announced that 22-year-old Chanel Lewis had removed 30-year-old Karina Vetrano from a running trail on August 2, 2016, and assaulted her sexually and physically. Strangled to death near her home.

Her father, Phil Vetrano, warned the police that she was not returning home and found the body during a search with police officers. Lewis was arrested in February 2017 after an intense investigation and massive media attention.

"This monster killed four people on the night of August 2," said Phil Vetrano Tuesday at the sentencing hearing, according to CNN's affiliate, WABC. "One is in paradise, the other three are walking on earth like zombies, just waiting to die to be with Karina again."

WABC said that Lewis had briefly spoken to the audience stating, "I'm sorry for the loss of the family, but I did not do it."

The Legal Aid Society, representing Lewis, made the statement on Tuesday: "It can not be denied that Karina Vetrano's death is tragic and that her family and friends have suffered a great loss, every aspect of the case – of the Jury Inquiry deliberations – was motivated by the desire to condemn at all costs, regardless of Mr. Lewis's constitutional rights to due process and fair trial. "We will appeal this case in front of the Appeals Division to ensure the justice of Mr. Lewis that he deserves. "

A jury found Lewis guilty of first degree murder, second degree intentional murder, second degree murder and first degree sexual abuse. A first trial, held in November, ended with a suspended jury.

Prosecutors presented their arguments with two confessions from Lewis – one to the police and the other to prosecutors – and DNA evidence, WABC reported.

"The defendant in this case has not shown an ounce of remorse for this heinous murder," Deputy Attorney General John M. Ryan said in a statement from the Queens District Attorney's Office. "I hope this sentence will comfort the family, knowing that the killer of their loved one will never see freedom again."

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The accused's lawyers stated that the confessions had been forced and questioned the accuracy of DNA evidence, as they were found on Vetrano's phone, neck and nails, but nowhere elsewhere at the scene of the crime, said WABC.

Defense lawyers also argued that prosecutors had concealed evidence that would have been favorable to Lewis and that jury fouls had been committed, but the judge dismissed the motions, WABC reported.
The statement from the prosecutor's office, citing testimony at the trial, indicated that Lewis was angry that a neighbor was playing loud music when he met Vetrano around 6 pm. on the Spring Creek Park Running Trail in Queens.

While she was running in front of him, Lewis hit her in the face, pulled on her clothes and strangled her with her hands and dragged her body into the grasses, the statement said.

CNN's Kristina Sgueglia, Kwegyirba Croffie George Montgomery and Darran Simon in Atlanta contributed to this report.

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