Police Make Arrest Following Death Of Woman, Toddler In North Bay Shore Home
BAY SHORE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Police in Suffolk County have made an arrest following the deaths of a woman and a toddler whose bodies were found inside their North Bay Shore home.
The bodies of Shakeela Planter, 21, and 2-year-old Jaiden Planter were found in different rooms of their basement apartment on South Cardinal Court Friday evening.
Planter's body was discovered after she hadn't shown up for work at Huntington Hospital for a few days, prompting her landlord to check on her.
"The female was stabbed a number of times. The baby was viciously beaten. The baby was ultimately put in the plastic bag and put in the freezer. Female was bound and wrapped and left on the bed," said Suffolk County Det. Lt. Gerard Pelkofsky.
The murders happened inside this home in the basement apartment sometime around December 18th. That's when police say the suspect Jerry A. Lewis went to his sister's house in New Jersey, then trekked back this way to the Tanker Mall in the victim's car, ditched it and hopped a bus to Washington, DC.
On Monday, Suffolk County Homicide Detectives squad arrested Jerry A. Lewis, 24, in Laurel, Maryland. Lewis faces 2nd Degree Murder charges.
"My detectives responded to Maryland on Christmas Eve, late in the night, drove down, questioned the suspect and ultimately placed him under arrest - worked 24 hours a day," said Pelkofsky.
He's being held in Laurel and will be extradited to Suffolk County later.
Police say he confessed to killing Planter and her 2-year-old son.
Lewis has no previous criminal history and there were no reports of domestic abuse between him and Planter. Lewis lived there with his victims for the past four months.
He and Planter used to date but police said that relationship had fallen apart.
Authorities don't yet have a motive for the killings.
Neighbors said they were relieved the alleged killer was behind bars Monday.
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