Vigil held for Yazmeen Williams, whose body was found wrapped in sleeping bag on Kips Bay street
NEW YORK -- A vigil was held Saturday evening for Yazmeen Williams, whose body was found wrapped in a sleeping bag on a Kips Bay street earlier this month.
While the man accused of killing her sits in jail, family members want to shine a light on their loved one.
The vigil took place at 207 E. 27th St., where her body was found. Attendees were encouraged to wear sparkles, gold or white as they honor Williams' spirit.
"It's just so sad. The whole block is all shook up ... Every time I pass [where Williams' body was found], I say a prayer. Every time," Kips Bay resident Kathy Davis said.
Williams' family said they will not give up until justice is served.
Yazmeen Williams' body found in trash bag on Kips Bay street
Williams' body was found on 27th Street between Second and Third avenues on July 5, wrapped in a sleeping bag and placed inside a trash bag. Police said she had been shot in the head, and her death was ruled a homicide.
Police were alerted when neighbors called complaining of a foul smell. When officers checked the bag, they found her body.
Neighbors immediately suspected Chad Irish, the man with whom she lived.
On June 26, days before Williams went missing, prosecutors said surveillance video shows Irish threatening to shoot her.
Williams was last seen alive on June 30, throwing out trash in the garbage chute outside their apartment.
In the early morning hours of July 5, a person in a motorized wheelchair was caught on surveillance video dragging a blue sleeping bag on a plastic dolly before returning to the apartment the two shared.
Irish was arrested Monday and charged with concealment of a human corpse. Angry community members mobbed him as police took him into custody.
On Wednesday, the charges were upgraded to murder and improper disposal of a human body. Irish was arraigned on Thursday. Prosecutors said if found guilty, he is facing life in prison.
