Former NYC homeless shelter resident charged in manager's death
NEW YORK -- Police say the manager of a New York shelter was abducted at gunpoint by a former resident who attempted to sexually assault her before shooting her to death.
Officials say 36-year-old Ana Isabel Charle was walking to her car Monday around 6 p.m., near the 108-bed Project Renewal Shelter in the Bronx, N.Y., where she encountered West Spruill.
Police say Spruill sexually assaulted Charle in her car and as she escaped, a naked Spruill chased her and shot her three times in the head and chest.
Spruill has been charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
Charle was found shot and killed on Bullard Avenue, just a block from the shelter that she oversaw, reports CBS New York.
Police say Spruill was armed when arrested soon after. The 39-year-old man had moved out of the shelter in January.
Police are searching for a motive in the slaying.
Julio Martinez. a shelter resident, told CBS New York that there had been a previous conflict between Charle and Spruill
"In the lobby they were arguing and he was very upset, he was very upset," Martinez said.
Neighbors in Charle's Queens, N.Y. neighborhood are in disbelief, describing her as a friendly mother who adored her two daughters.
"It's very heartbreaking, a young mother with young kids that lost their mom," neighbor Harry Mallios said.
In a statement, The Project Renewal Shelter described its staff as "heartbroken."
"Ana was part of the Project Renewal Family...She went above and beyond in her work and put in 110 percent into improving the lives of others," the organization said in the statement.
Spruill has six prior arrests, including for attempted murder, and served time in Michigan for assault with a deadly weapon.
His attorney was not immediately available for comment.