Burglar accused of raping, choking sleeping woman in UES apartment

UPPER EAST SIDE, Manhattan (PIX11) — A burglar is accused of repeatedly punching and raping a sleeping woman in her Upper East Side apartment before using her credit card to pay for a taxi ride from the scene, authorities said.

Donovan Murphy, 28, was arrested Wednesday and charged with rape, assault, strangulation, burglary, and grand larceny, according to the NYPD.

Murphy allegedly broke into the 29-year-old woman’s apartment and climbed into bed with her before she woke up screaming for him to get out of her Yorkville residence at around 3:40 a.m. on Sept. 28, cops said.

Murphy then allegedly choked and repeatedly punched her in the face before ripping off her pajama bottoms and raping her, according to the criminal complaint. The inside of the victim’s lip split open to the point of hanging loose, prosecutors said. Her bedroom walls and floors were covered in blood.

Murphy, a Bronx resident, is also accused of stealing the victim’s credit cards and using them to hail a taxi ride from her apartment and later making a purchase at a CVS, authorities said.

The defendant pled not guilty and is being held without bail following his arraignment on Wednesday, according to court records.

His attorney could not immediately be reached on Friday.

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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