How Yonkers Cold Case Detectives Solved 9-Year-Old Bronx Murder

YONKERS, NY — Nearly a decade of persistence and fresh eyes from cold case investigators paid off in the recent closing of a 2012 homicide investigation.

On Tuesday, September 4, 2012, at 5:35 p.m., the Yonkers Police Department was called to the wooded area between Rossmore Avenue and Midland Avenue, adjacent to the Sprain Brook River Parkway, about a suspicious package. Officers instead discovered a decomposing human body wrapped in a garbage bag.

Detectives from the Major Case Squad and Crime Scene Unit learned that the victim, an adult woman, had died from a gunshot wound to the head. She was identified as Pamela Graddick, a 26-year-old resident of the Bronx.

Investigators believed that Graddick was killed outside the City of Yonkers and her body was dumped in an effort to conceal the crime. Because of this and the absence of local leads or the initial crime scene, the investigation was transferred to the Cold Case Unit in 2014.

Over the next seven years, Cold Case detectives continuously worked the case, recovering evidence and maintaining relationships with the victim’s family. A person of interest was identified early on in the investigation; however, it took years of additional case work to develop probable cause, eventually leading to a confession made by the main suspect.

This month, more than nine years and four months after Graddick's decomposing body was discovered, Yonkers detectives charged her live-in girlfriend with murder.

"The passage of time only reinforces our commitment to solving these heinous crimes," Commissioner John J. Mueller said in a statement announcing the break in the case. "The Yonkers Police prides itself on focusing on victims and their families and doing whatever we can to deliver justice for them. I hope that these arrests bring some degree of closure to Pamela’s family and friends; and I applaud the extraordinary efforts of our Cold Case Detectives in closing out this case after so many years — well done."

Wanda Veguilla from the Bronx was charged with one count of felony murder 2. Investigators believe, based on evidence and statements made by the 40-year-old, that she shot and killed Graddick in their Bronx apartment as a result of ongoing domestic issues between them. At the time, the two were in a relationship and living together.

Detectives believe that Veguilla was assisted by an accomplice who provided the gun used as the murder weapon and helped dispose of the body.

John Torres, a 30-year-old resident of Yonkers, was charged with felony criminal facilitation, hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence in connection with the murder.

"The City of Yonkers and Yonkers Police Department extends its deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Pamela Graddick. Furthermore, the City and Department expresses its sincere thanks to the Graddick family for their steadfast support of this investigation throughout the years, and the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office for their professional collaboration," YPD officials said.

Both Veguilla and Torres were arraigned in Yonkers Criminal Court and remanded to the Westchester County Jail pending their next court appearance. The case is being prosecuted by the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office.