Man indicted for murder in fatal shooting of woman left in bag on NYC street

KIPS BAY, Manhattan (PIX11) — A man accused of killing a woman and dumping her body in a sleeping bag on a Manhattan sidewalk last month was indicted for murder, authorities said Monday.

Chad Irish, 55, was indicted for fatally shooting Yazmeen Williams, 31, in the head after her body was found wrapped inside a sleeping bag on East 27th Street in Kips Bay on July 5, authorities said.

Irish is also facing charges of criminal possession of a weapon, concealment of a human corpse, and tampering with physical evidence.

Irish and Williams had been living together in the Straus Houses on East 28th Street in Kips Bay since November 2023. Sometime in late June, Irish allegedly shot the woman in the head days after they argued in the hallway outside their apartment, prosecutors said.

I’ll shoot you,” Irish allegedly told Williams during the fight, according to the criminal complaint.

Prosecutors said Irish was spotted leaving his apartment with a blue sleeping bag on a dolly and getting on to the elevator at around 5:15 a.m. on July 5. The defendant was caught on surveillance video riding a wheelchair while allegedly hauling Williams’ body to the spot on East 27th Street where she was found dead, according to the court records.

Irish then went back to his apartment in the Straus Houses, authorities said.

“As alleged, Chad Irish cut the life of Yazmeen Williams short in this unspeakable tragedy, compounding the crime by so callously disposing of her body. Ms. Williams had her whole life ahead of her and was looking forward to starting a new chapter with a job at the New York City Housing and Preservation and Development that week,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said. “I send my deepest condolences to her loved ones as they continue to mourn her loss.”

Irish pleaded not guilty during his arraignment Monday and is being held without bail, accoridng to court records.

His attorney could not immediately be reached Monday.

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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