{"id":197492,"date":"2026-04-14T23:13:39","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T23:13:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/197492\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T23:13:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T23:13:39","slug":"devastated-son-blasts-animal-squatter-who-stomped-nyc-mom-to-death-as-she-planned-fresh-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/197492\/","title":{"rendered":"Devastated son blasts ‘animal’ squatter who stomped NYC mom to death as she planned fresh start"},"content":{"rendered":"

The devastated son of the New York mom stomped to death by a ruthless squatter<\/a> in her Manhattan apartment repeatedly branded the cold-blooded killer an \u201canimal\u201d \u2014 stressing he \u201cstole\u201d her life just as she was finally planning a new chapter after years of caring for her ill parents.<\/p>\n

Halley Tejada, 21, was hit with the fiery tongue-lashing in Manhattan Supreme Court Tuesday when he was slapped with a 20-year prison sentence for viciously killing Nadia Vitels<\/a> before stuffing her in a duffel bag and tossing it in a closet at her Kips Bay pad in March 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom and I were a family of two; it was just us against the world,\u201d her son, Michael Medvedev, said in a heartbreaking statement, describing his slain mom as an entrepreneur with \u201can infectious laugh.\u201d<\/p>\n

Halley Tejada, 21, was slapped with a 20-year prison sentence for the vicious March 2024 killing of Nadia Vitels. Steven Hirsch for NY Post<\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter how tough things got, she built her entire life out of nothing. She sacrificed everything so I can have stability, opportunities and a sense of security. She was supposed to be here forever \u2026 but on March 12, 2024, this animal took her from me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tejada and fellow squatter Kensley Alston had been holed up for days inside Vitels\u2019 vacant 19th-floor unit at 206 East 31st Street when she showed up on March 12, 2024, to get the place ready for a friend\u2019s visit.<\/p>\n

The 52-year-old victim ordered the intruders out of the apartment \u2014 once owned by her mother \u2014 but Tejada snapped and threatened to kill her.<\/a> He then chased her as she fled for a bedroom window before throwing her down and ferociously stomping her, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat hurts even more is looking back and seeing everything this animal stole from us,\u201d Medvedev fumed, adding that his mother spent the three years before her death caring for her sick parents.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was moving into the city, excited to build a life that was truly her own. In an instant, in an instant, all of it was ripped away. This animal didn\u2019t just take her life \u2014 he stole the years she had left to live for herself. That sense of safety she\u2019s given me, my rock \u2026 is gone forever. That animal stole my mother.\u201d<\/p>\n

The heartbroken son said he can\u2019t stop replaying the terror his mother must have felt in her final moments \u2014 and the instant he realized something was terribly wrong.<\/p>\n

Nadia Vitels, 52, was stomped to death and stuffed in a duffel bag inside her Manhattan apartment on March 12, 2024. Nadia Vitels\/Facebook<\/p>\n

Vitels was found two days later with multiple skull fractures and two broken ribs after Medvedev, unable to reach her, called police for a wellness check. Kevin C. Downs for NY Post<\/p>\n

Vitels was found two days later with multiple skull fractures and two broken ribs after Medvedev, unable to reach her, called police for a wellness check.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe always responded, and I knew right then that something was wrong,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors said the skull fractures the victim suffered were so severe they are typically seen when someone is \u201cstruck by a train or falls from a great height.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tejada and Alston, his 20-year-old girlfriend, fled to Pennsylvania in the victim\u2019s car after the killing<\/a>, then went on a brazen nine-day spending spree \u2013 using Vitels\u2019 credit card to buy a PS5, AirPods, clothes, food, and even a diamond ring they used to get engaged.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey celebrated while Nadia Vitels\u2019 lifeless, bound body remained packed away where the defendants callously hid her in the hopes that nobody would find her,\u201d said Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Clerkin.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The twisted duo were arrested about a week later after crashing the victim\u2019s Lexus SUV in Pennsylvania, and eventually extradited to New York and charged with murder.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tejada and a fellow squatter then stole the victim\u2019s car and went on a wild spending spree before they were captured. Steven Hirsch for NY Post<\/p>\n

The victim ordered the intruders out of the apartment \u2013 once owned by her mother \u2013 but Tejada snapped and threatened to kill her. William Farrington for NY Post<\/p>\n

\u201cNadia Vitels was about to start a new chapter of her life when Halley Tajada brutally murdered her in the very apartment she was moving into,\u201d Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement, calling the fatal incident \u201cabhorrent.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy thoughts are with Ms. Vitels\u2019 loved ones who continue to mourn her painful loss. I know this sentence will not bring her back, but I hope it can serve as a measure of comfort.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alston\u2019s case is still pending.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She is due back in court on May 1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The devastated son of the New York mom stomped to death by a ruthless squatter in her Manhattan…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":197493,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[303,3140,75,84,83,57,238,9,24,63,3209,58],"class_list":{"0":"post-197492","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manhattan","8":"tag-crime","9":"tag-fugitives","10":"tag-manhattan","11":"tag-manhattan-headlines","12":"tag-manhattan-news","13":"tag-metro","14":"tag-murders","15":"tag-new-york","16":"tag-new-york-city","17":"tag-nyc","18":"tag-sentencing","19":"tag-us-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=197492"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197492\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/197493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=197492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=197492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=197492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}