Man accused of killing woman found in bag on Manhattan street

KIPS BAY, Manhattan (PIX11) — A man is accused of killing a woman whose body was found in a sleeping bag on a Manhattan street last week, police said Wednesday.

Chad Irish, 55, was charged with murder, criminal possession of a weapon, and concealment of a human corpse in the death of 31-year-old Yazmeen Williams , according to the NYPD.

Williams was found dead wrapped inside a sleeping bag left among garbage bags on the street at 207 East 27th St. between Third and Second avenues in Kips Bay on Friday, police said. Williams had been fatally shot in the head, police said.

“It’s evil, just evil,” the victim’s cousin told PIX11 News on Monday. “She’s not trash.”

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Surveillance video showed a man in a wheelchair using a dolly to haul Williams’ body to the spot on East 27th Street where she was found dead, police said.

NYPD detectives used the surveillance video to track the suspect back to the nearby Straus Houses, where Irish was arrested on Monday, police said.

Authorities believe Williams was killed in Irish’s apartment in the Straus Houses. She was last seen alive on June 23, according to police.

People from the community confronted Irish outside the Straus Houses earlier in the day before his arrest, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.

Irish got into arguments with people in two separate incidents that day outside the Straus Houses, police said. In both incidents, Irish allegedly threatened the people with a gun, according to police.

“Several people from the neighborhood were quite angry with Mr. Irish over [Williams’ death] and they surrounded him,” Kenny said. “He produced a pistol and menaced them. He then fled the location back to his apartment where he was placed under arrest by detectives and patrol.”

Irish was charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon and two counts of menacing for both incidents, police said.

Williams was college-educated and had a twin brother and an 8-year-old sister, according to her family. She was about to begin a new job at the NYCHA.

“It’s just heartbreaking,” the cousin said.

Mira Wassef is a digital reporter who has covered news and sports in the NYC area for more than a decade. She joined PIX11 News in 2022. See more of her work here.

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