The man who confessed to the brutal murder of New York City jogger Karina Vetrano easily offered the chilling to details to prosecutors, explaining that the senseless killing was completely random.
At Chanel Lewis’s Supreme Court arraignment hearing on Tuesday, the court made public transcripts from the suspect’s detailed confessions: Both the videotaped confession he gave following his February arrest, and additional statements made to detectives and prosecutors, according to the the Daily News.
Lewis told investigators that he was angry about an earlier incident at home and took out his homicidal rage on the 30-year-old beauty, who was on her usual jogging path in Howard Beach, Queens, last August when Lewis allegedly attacked her out of the blue.
“She didn’t do anything,” Lewis reportedly said in a confession. “I was just mad at that time. I beat her to let my emotions out. I didn’t really mean to hurt her. It just happened.”
Lewis went on to describe beating the victim in the face until her teeth broke, and dragging her by the wrists off the jogging path into the weeds. Vetrano reportedly fought hard for her life — which is how Lewis’s DNA was found on her body, including under her fingernails — but Lewis ultimately strangled her to death.
I put both my hands around her neck and strangled her … I grabbed both of her wrists and pulled her off the path and into the weeds. Her pants came off while I was dragging her.
In spite of Lewis’s confessions, he has entered a plea of not guilty, and both his defense team and his family have suggested he may have been falsely accused.
Outside of the courthouse, the suspects mother reportedly discounted her son’s confession.
“My son was in no weeds!” she said, according to the Daily News.
Also included in the transcripts is a request that Lewis reportedly made to see a photo of Vetrano’s parents, while he was on his way to Central Booking.