Brownsville Man Charged With Bagging Strangled Girlfriend: DA

BROWNSVILLE, BROOKLYN -- A Brooklyn man is accused of stuffing the girlfriend he strangled to death into a laundry bag and leaving her on a Brownsville street, according to prosecutors.

Clayton Wilkins, 59, was indicted on murder charges more than six years after he allegedly killed 50-year-old Renee Staton in Brownsville, the Brooklyn District Attorney's office announced.

DNA evidence connected Wilkins to the black laundry bag found outside 101 Lott Ave. at about 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 15, 2012, said prosecutors.

Cold case investigators linked materials found under Staton's fingernails, on her scarf and on the drawstrings of the laundry bag to a DNA sample provided by Wilkins, prosecutors said.

But Wilkins, who was Staton's boyfriend at the time of her death, told police he had never seen the laundry bag or been scratched by his girlfriend, said prosecutors.

Wilkins was arraigned on charges of murder and strangulation in Brooklyn Supreme Court Monday murder, held without bail and ordered to return to court on March 22, according to prosecutors.

The Brownsville man could face a life sentence if convicted, said prosecutors.

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