Betty Williams 28, NY Body Found in Suitcase-video "POI"

[MuffyBee]

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/12/24/new.york.suitcase.death/index.html?eref=ib_us
Video
NY police release new video in case of body found in suitcase
December 25, 2010

New York (CNN) -- New York police said Friday they have new video showing what they called a "person of interest" in the case of a woman whose body was found in a suitcase earlier this week.

Detectives from New York's 23rd precinct, in the city's Harlem neighborhood, made the video public two days after the victim's body was found. Police had earlier released a separate, grainy video showing what they believe is the same man, rolling a suitcase down a street.

The new video shows a dark-skinned man, wearing a black winter hat and a heavy jacket, at a store. He appears to be carrying several items when he enters the store, takes money from his wallet, and eventually leaves after making some purchases.

Police did not detail how they got the new footage, where it came from, or at what time it was shot.

On Thursday, police identified the victim as Betty Williams, 28, from the Bronx. Williams was strangled and then stuffed into the dark-colored piece of luggage, authorities said.

Blood was leaking from suitcase when it was found Wednesday night, police said.


"The cause of death is strangulation," Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said Thursday. "We initially announced it was trauma to the back of the head -- that was the belief of the investigators at the scene."

Shortly after the find, the first video was released showing a man dressed in a dark knit hat and leather jacket with light-colored pants, pulling the suitcase near a stoop in East Harlem.

The man pauses as three people walk by before hauling the suitcase past a dark-colored sport utility vehicle and out of the camera's sight.

The New York Police Department is seeking the public's help in identifying the suspect in the videos, according to a police statement. Those with information are encouraged to submit tips online at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or call 800-577-TIPS.

"We're talking to relatives and we hope to have more definitive information about her acquaintances that will help in the investigation," Kelly said.

[San]

Cops talk with 'person of interest' in Harlem suitcase murder: sources

By LARRY CELONA
Last Updated: 7:15 PM, December 27, 2010
Posted: 5:26 PM, December 27, 2010

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/cops_questioning_person_of_interest_q1LmzjG0hSqkI05WQTLHzK#ixzz19McvFGGJ

Cops are questioning a suspect who fits the description of the grinning man caught on surveillance footage paying for cleaning supplies before he dumped a suitcase stuffed with a woman's body in East Harlem, sources told The Post.

The 55-year-old man, who lives in Westchester, was brought into custody today at the 23rd Precinct station house following a tip, sources said.

The video shows the man lifting a package onto the counter of a grocery store near the East 114th Street scene of the grisly body disposal, and then smiling widely.

It was the second tape featuring the culprit behind the death of 28-year-old Betty Williams.

The footage from Compare Supermarket, on East 115th Street, is 40 seconds long.

It shows a man in a dark hat, dark coat and eyeglasses flashing a wide smile as he digs into his wallet to pay the clerk in cash.

He waits for his change, then walks out with a plastic shopping bag.

Cops would not confirm that the man in the video was the same person whose image was captured by another camera dragging the suitcase to a spot near First Avenue.

That video was put out by cops in the first hours of their probe.

It appears that the men in the two videos could be different, or at least wearing different jackets, but sources told The Post they are believed to be the same person.

"Chances are it's the same guy," a police source said.

Plus, the sources said, detectives have additional footage from the grocery store -- shot before the body was dumped -- showing the man arriving and leaving with a suitcase.

Williams' body was found Dec. 22 in a tree-lined area a half-block from the exclusive Italian eatery Rao's, directly opposite Thomas Jefferson Park.

The victim, who had 14 arrests, including drug offenses, was found clothed inside the suitcase. A woman who lives in the neighborhood found the bag and opened it.

She was stunned when a leg sprang out of the blood-soaked storage compartment.

[San]

Suspect confesses in gruesome murder of Betty Williams, stuffing her body in a suitcase: sources

BY Alison Gendar and Kerry Wills
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
Originally Published:Monday, December 27th 2010, 7:50 PM
Updated: Tuesday, December 28th 2010, 3:00 AM

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/12/27/2010-12-27_suspects_confesses_in_gruesome_murder_of_betty_williams_stuffing_her_body_in_a_s.html#ixzz19PNm6jkO



An East Harlem man was charged Monday night with the gruesome murder of a woman whose body was found last week stuffed in a suitcase and left on the street.

Cops arrested Hassan Malik, 55, who lives on Pleasant Ave., just a few blocks from where the suitcase was found, police said.

Malik, a military veteran, was brought into the 23rd Precinct stationhouse for questioning after cops got a tip, sources said, and he confessed to the murder.

The bloodied remains of Betty Williams, 28, of Harlem, were dumped on E. 114th St. in East Harlem, near the famed Rao's restaurant, on Dec. 22.

Williams, who was strangled, did brief stints on Rikers Island for 12 different arrests since 2007, half of them drug-related.

Her body was discovered after a passerby found the suitcase minutes after it was dumped - and was terrified when a leg popped out after she opened it.

Cops released a video shortly after the body was found showing a man abandoning the suitcase about midnight.

Malik's neighbors said he was the man in that video. They said he bragged about bringing women to hotels and robbing them of their credit cards.

"He had a lot of girls," said one neighbor, who declined to give his name. "He could talk. Sometimes it's not the looks. He's a people person."

Neighbors said that police told them they found Malik's fingerprints on the suitcase. Police removed many of his possessions from his apartment Saturday, neighbors said.

Police had released a second video last week showing a man smiling and buying groceries at a nearby supermarket. That man was located and questioned by cops. They now believe he had nothing to do with the killing.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/28/AR2010122802506.html
Self-defense claim in NYC body-in-luggage case
December 28, 2010

NEW YORK -- Authorities say a man already on probation has admitted killing a woman whose body was found in a suitcase on a New York City street. He claimed she attacked him first.

Hassan Malik was held without bail after his arraignment Tuesday on a murder charge.

Police say a passer-by found 28-year-old Betty Williams' body in a suitcase Wednesday in East Harlem.

A court complaint says Malik told police he returned to his apartment to find Williams dead. The papers say Malik said he choked Williams with an electric cord after she wound it around his neck and hit him with a frying pan.

Prosecutors say forensic evidence will contradict him.

His lawyer says the 55-year-old Malik was about to start a job as a drug counselor.


(This version corrects that suspect is on probation, not parole.)

[MuffyBee]

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/suitcase-slayer-used-cooking-pan-cord/story-e6frf7lf-1225977711750
'Suitcase slayer' used cooking pan, cord
December 29, 2010

A NEW York City man caught on video disposing of a woman's body stuffed inside a suitcase, confessed to smashing his victim with a frying pan and then using an electric cord to strangle her after he caught her trying to steal his money.

Hassan Malik, 55, who has a long rap sheet including assault, aggravated harassment, robbery and drugs, was picked up around 1:30pm Monday in an apartment in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.

In a written and videotaped confession, he admitted the strangulation slaying of Betty Williams, 28, police sources said.

He told police he paid the victim for sex, but later caught her taking money in his East Harlem apartment, so he killed her, other law enforcement sources said.

Malik was arraigned Tuesday afternoon and held without bail.

According to the criminal complaint, Malik portrayed the murder as self-defense. He said he did it because Williams "struck him with a frying pan twice on his shoulder."
Malik said he took the pan and hit her twice in the head, according to the criminal complaint.

After hitting her, Malik said the woman wrapped an electric cord around his neck -- but he took it and used it to strangle her, causing her "to pass out."

When Malik walked out of the 23rd Precinct stationhouse early Tuesday he told reporters he was "sorry" for what he did.

The break in the murder came after a tipster saw the chilling video that showed the alleged assailant casually wheeling a suitcase to a spot by his home.

Williams, who has 14 arrests, mostly for drugs, was found fully clothed inside the suitcase on Dec. 22 by a neighbourhood resident who opened the bag and saw a leg pop out.

[Nut44x4]

Adding some reports since the last post---

Accused 'Suitcase Murder' Accomplice Free Without Bail Updated March 11, 2011 8:28am
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — Prosecutors have charged a second man in connection with the murder of Betty Williams, whose body was found stuffed into a suitcase on an East Harlem sidewalk, according to court documents.

But unlike alleged killer Hassan Malik, who remains behind bars pending trial following a very public arrest and arraignment, Richard Martin was indicted by a grand jury without fanfare, and was released without bail immediately following his arraignment, court documents reveal.

Martin, 47, was indicted on charges that he allegedly helped Malik cover up the killing by tampering with evidence and removing Williams' body after her murder, among other charges. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in Manhattan Supreme Court on Jan. 10, and was released without bail, according to court records. He is due back in court on April 26.

SNIPPED

A source familiar with the case said Martin was apparently trusted to return to court without bail as insurance because he voluntarily surrendered to face the charges and because he is charged with a low-level felonies and misdemeanors.

 
Malik told investigators he approached Martin after Williams' murder Dec. 21, and told him that something "real bad" had happened, according to court documents.
 ::snipping2::   
Malik is due back in court on April 5, 2011.
http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20110311/harlem/man-accused-of-covering-up-harlem-suitcase-murder-released-without-bail

Pretty Lady Betty Williams-murdered

[Nut44x4]

I am probably blind, but I can't find Hassan here  http://nysdoccslookup.doccs.ny.gov/