Bronx Man Indicted For 2017 Cold Case Death In Mount Vernon

MOUNT VERNON, NY — A grand jury handed down an indictment in a notorious Westchester County cold case.

Bronx resident Edmund Pennil was indicted for felony charges in connection with the 2017 death of 41-year-old Mount Vernon resident Tremayne Williams, Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocah announced on Friday. Pennil was arrested in November as a result of a joint investigation between the Mount Vernon Police Department, the FBI’s Westchester Safe Streets Task Force and the Cold Case Bureau of the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office.

“We hope this is the beginning of some closure for Tremayne Williams’ family,” Rocah said in a statement on Friday. “We are grateful to the Mount Vernon Police Department for their collaboration and for never giving up on this case. This case is among more than a hundred that our Cold Case Bureau has been investigating since its inception last year."

SEE ALSO: Cold Case Unit Makes Arrest In 2017 Unsolved Homicide

Pennil was indicted for felony manslaughter in the second degree and felony leaving the scene of an incident without reporting a death. The 45-year-old was arraigned in Westchester County Court on August 19.

Prosecutors contend that on September 6, 2017, at approximately 6:20 a.m., Pennil hit Williams with his SUV on East Third Street in Mount Vernon, trapping him under the vehicle. Investigators said Pennil, knowing Williams was under the car, then drove over him and fled the scene.

Williams was taken to Montefiore Mount Vernon Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The Mount Vernon Police Department arrested Pennil in the Bronx on November 10, 2021.

The case is being prosecuted by Cold Case Bureau Chief Laura Murphy and Assistant District Attorney Annmarie Stepancic. Pennil is scheduled to appear again in court on November 18.