Chad Irish indicted in connection with Yazmeen Williams’ death – NBC New York

The woman found dead in a sleeping bag on a Manhattan sidewalk last week was seen alive on surveillance video throwing out trash in her apartment building late last month, but she was never seen leaving the ground floor, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday.

Yazmeen Williams was spotted at her building on East 28th Street in Kips Bay around 1:45 p.m. on June 30 wearing black shorts and black high-top sneakers with a white sole.

The lawsuit states that she was not seen leaving the floor via the elevator or stairwell, nor was she seen on video leaving the building herself before her body was discovered on July 5.

Four days earlier, on the evening of June 26, surveillance videos show Williams arguing in a hallway with a man who appeared to be in a wheelchair in an apartment, prosecutors said. He allegedly said, “I’m going to shoot you,” the indictment says. It is not clear what may have sparked the argument.

Prosecutors identified the man in the wheelchair as Chad Irish.

They claimed Irish murdered them and charged him with that crime as well as concealing a human corpse in connection with the death of Williams, whose body was found in a designated waste pile on Friday.

Her death was ruled a homicide. It is not clear how long her body had been in the sleeping bag before the gruesome discovery.

Videos and photos shared on social media show what appears to be a life-sized body wrapped in a dark sleeping bag, which is also wrapped in black garbage bags. Sources told NBC New York that surveillance video shows a person in an electric wheelchair pulling the sleeping bag behind him. Investigators believe the person is Irish.

According to police, the 55-year-old Irishman is also accused of possession of weapons in this case. He was remanded in custody after being charged on Thursday. On the way to court, he denied any wrongdoing when reporters asked him if he had committed any.

Irish is represented by Legal Aid, which does not normally comment on ongoing cases.

Irish was released on parole in 2022 after being convicted of robbery. It is not the first time he has been accused of murder: Investigators say he blew up a house in 1994 when his uncle went inside.

On Monday, crowds attempted to attack Irish as he was being arrested in connection with Williams’ death. Police and paramedics held back the mob of dozens as punches were thrown while others spat at him. Tensions were high until the man was bundled into an ambulance and taken to a nearby hospital.

“How inhumane – you drag someone’s daughter down the block,” New York Mayor Eric Adams said at a press conference on Tuesday. “He’s lucky the police caught him first. He’s lucky the police caught him first.”

The victim’s mother, Nicole Williams, was there when he was taken away.

“He’s disgusting… he looks like scum,” Williams said. “They were angry. He… threw my daughter in a garbage bag.”

According to the complaint, Irish must appear in court again on Friday.