Suspect Charged In Death Of Mount Vernon Woman Due In Court
MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A man who police said confessed to killing his girlfriend and then dumping her body in a Bronx park is set to face a judge on Monday.
Jason Myers, 32, was charged Saturday with second-degree murder in the death of 27-year-old Ashley McDuffie, Mount Vernon police said.
McDuffie was reported missing by her family on Wednesday in Mount Vernon where she lived.
Her father, Ricky McDuffie, said she dropped off her children, ages 6 and 3, with family in Connecticut for what was supposed to be a two-day visit.
But police said her family got worried when they couldn't reach McDuffie for a couple of days and said it was unusual for her to not contact her children for an extended period of time.
Mount Vernon Police Captain Roy Hastings said as they were investigating McDuffie's disappearance, they tried to find Myers regarding her whereabouts, but couldn't reach him.
Then on Friday, police said his attorney notified detectives that Myers would come in and give a statement.
"During the course of the interview and the investigation, he indicated that the victim was deceased and that her body was dumped in a park in the Bronx," Hastings said. "He indicated that he had strangled her at the residence."
Hastings said they notified the NYPD, who found the victim's body in a wooded area behind a fence at 233rd Street and Monticello Avenue in Seton Falls Park Friday night.
Hastings said she was last seen alive on a store surveillance video with her boyfriend the night of Aug. 19, but said it's unclear how long her body had been in the park.