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4 The Courier sun • SEPTEMBER 15, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com Photo: Anthony Giudice/QNS, with inset via Instagram Security camera footage released by Crime Watch Daily on Monday shows the last few moments of Karina Vetrano’s life. Video shows last glimpse of Howard Beach’s Karina Vetrano jogging before her murder By Robert Pozarycki rpozarycki@qns.com/@robbpoz A television tabloid has obtained security camera footage showing some of the last moments of Karina Vetrano‘s life before she was raped and murdered in a Howard Beach park. Crime Watch Daily, a news program airing on WPIXTV, revealed on Sept. 12 the video showing the 30-yearold Vetrano jogging with her earphones on a street near the Gateway National Recreational Area on the afternoon of Aug. 2. She left her 84th Street home at 5 p.m. that afternoon and never returned. Hours later, her beaten body was discovered in the area of the park near the corner of 161st Avenue and 78th Street. An autopsy concluded that Vetrano was severely beaten, raped and strangled. The crime shook the entire neighborhood, but the effort to solve the case has been greatly affected by a lack of evidence and witnesses. The NYPD was able to create a DNA profile of Vetrano’s killer based on evidence recovered from the crime scene, but the DNA did not match anyone currently in the state DNA databank. The NYPD also released a sketch of a mystery man known to frequent the park. Although he was ruled out as a potential suspect, police officials believe this man might have seen Vetrano’s killer on the day of the murder, or might have other information that may prove helpful in solving the heinous crime. Howard Beach residents also did their part to help police in their investigation by creating a reward fund for the individual who would provide information leading to an arrest. More than $273,000 has been contributed to the reward fund, which would supplement the $45,000 reward already being offered by the city. Even so, more than six weeks after Vetrano was killed, police are no closer to making an arrest in the case. As the investigation continues, Howard Beach residents continue to seek ways to feel safer in their community. The Howard Beach-Lindenwood Civic Association announced last week on its Facebook page the creation of a special hotline for local residents to support suspicious individuals or activity in the area. The hotline was formed in partnership with the 106th Precinct after hearing reports regarding 911 operators being resistant to addressing reports of suspicious activity in the area. The civic group stressed that the number be used responsibly. Howard Beach residents can report suspicious individuals or activities to 718-845-2225. Meanwhile, anyone with information regarding the Vetrano murder that could prove helpful is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577- TIPS, visit their website or send a text message to 274637 (CRIMES), then enter TIP577. All calls and messages are kept confidential. Queens Village couple charged with assault in abuse of 6-week-old infant By Liam Baker editorial@qns.com/@QNS Two Queens Village parents have been charged with a reprehensible crime: abusing and starving their infant child. Joyce Nazareth, 23, and Victor Lugo, 27, both of Jamaica Avenue, were booked on first-degree assault, first-degree reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child charges for failing to seek immediate medical treatment for life-threatening conditions between Aug. 8, 2016, and Aug. 22. Nazareth was additionally charged with second-degree assault. According to District Attorney Brown, Liam Lugo was born on July 11, 2016, and weighed 7 pounds and 13 ounces. On Aug. 22, 2016, the infant was admitted to a local hospital weighing just 6 pounds and 8 ounces. The physician who examined the baby at the time determined that he had multiple fractures to his clavicle, ribs and right humerus. He was also allegedly suffering from life-threatening infections, acute failure to thrive and was malnourished. “Just weeks old, this baby allegedly suffered extensively at the hands of the very people who should have loved him the most. In addition to multiple fractures, his nose eroded as a result of severe infections and he will be required to undergo multiple reconstructive surgeries,” Brown said in a press release. The victim will require long-term feeding rehabilitation and antibiotic therapy, according to Brown. Nazareth and Lugo were both arraigned Friday, Sept. 2, before Queens Criminal Court Judge Ernest Hart, who ordered the defendants be held without bail and to return to court on Sept. 16. If convicted, they each face up to 25 years in prison. Wicked stepmom from Ozone Park gets 15 years in jail for abusing 12-year-old girl By Robert Pozarycki rpozarycki@qns.com/@robbpoz Her idea of motherly love was to deny her 12-year-old child food and beat her with a broom. An Ozone Park woman was ordered Thursday to serve 15 years in prison for severely abusing her stepdaughter over an 18-month period, prosecutors announced on Sept. 9. Sheetal Ranot, 35, of 96th Street was convicted in July of first-degree assault and endangering the welfare of child for her repeated attacks on 12-year-old Maya Ranot inside their home between Dec. 1, 2012, and May 6, 2014, according to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown. He called Sheetal Ranot “the epitome of an evil stepmother.” “Not only did she refuse to provide basic nourishment, but the defendant also wantonly beat and abused the girl, inflicting pain still evident by the scars that mark her body today,” Brown said in a statement. “No child deserves to be treated in this manner.” Prosecutors said Sheetal Ranot repeatedly attacked Maya Ranot about her body and face, causing various bruises and severe pain. In two separate incidents, Sheetal Ranot kicked Maya in the face and attacked her with a wooden rolling pin. Each attack caused various facial injuries. Throughout the period of abuse, authorities noted, Sheetal Ranot repeatedly locked Maya in her bedroom for extended periods of time and wouldn’t feed her. The starvation was so severe Photo courtesy of New York Daily News/John Roca Sheetal Ranot (at left) and her husband Rajesh Ranot are pictured in August 2014 outside the Queens County Criminal Courthouse. that the girl weighed just 58 pounds on May 6, 2014, the day in which Sheetal Ranot smacked Maya’s wrist with a broken metal broom handle. The attack caused a bone-deep laceration and severe blood loss. EMS units were called to the home and found Maya lying in a pool of blood in the kitchen; Brown said the tendons of the girl’s left wrist were exposed. Maya was brought to Elmhurst Hospital, where she underwent surgery and was hospitalized for an extended period of time. Following an investigation, the 106th Precinct Detective Squad arrested Sheetal Ranot and the victim’s biological father, Rajesh Ranot, who is currently awaiting trial on charges of second- and thirddegree abuse, unlawful imprisonment and endangering the welfare of a child.


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