Brooklyn Man Found Guilty Of Murdering Jogger Karina Vetrano: DA

NEW YORK CITY -- The Brooklyn man accused of sexually abusing and strangling Karina Vetrano as she jogged through a Queens park was been convicted of murder, prosecutors said.

Chanel Lewis, 22, was convicted in Queens Criminal Court Monday almost three years after Vetrano, 30, was found by her father in Spring Creek Park in Howard Beach on Aug. 2, 2016, said prosecutors.

“This was a horrifying case," Chief Assistant District Attorney John Ryansaid. "Ms. Vetrano’s death was brutal. She was pulled from a park pathway, sexually assaulted and in her last moments of life she gasped for air as the defendant’s hands tightened around her neck.”

It took the Queens jury five hours to go over nearly three weeks' worth of evidence and find Lewis guilty of murder, intentional murder, felony murder and sexual abuse, said prosecutors.

This is the second time Lewis has stood trial for Vetrano's death, said prosecutors. The first jury to hear the case in 2018 was unable to reach a verdict and a mistrial was declared.

Lewis is slated to be sentenced on April 17 and could face up to life in prison without parole, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors argued that Lewis sexually abused Vetrano —medical examiners found bruising and tearing — and then strangled her to death with enough force to break her teeth, said prosecutors.

Trial evidence included a DNA analysis which found Lewis' DNA under Vetrano’s fingernails, said prosecutors.

It took police six months to track down Lewis, who told investigators he was angry at neighbors blasting music when he dashed into the park and encountered Vetrano, said prosecutors.

“I lost it,” Lewis said in the recorded confession.

Lewis' attorney Robert Moeller argued there was no video evidence to place Lewis in the park during the crime and that the DNA evidence did not prove he was there when Vetrano was killed, according to the New York Times.

Moeller also contended that Lewis' confession did not match up with the evidence and that his client, who has learning disabilities, may not have understood what was happening, noting Lewis asked for his mom and to watch cartoons, the Times reported.

During the trial, Lewis’s lawyers asked for a hearing to determine if a mistrial was in order and if prosecutors withheld evidence, the Times reported. Justice Michael B. Aloise denied the requests, and the Legal Aid Society stated it will appeal the verdict.

“Our client did not receive a fair trial,” the attorney organization reportedly said.