Crime & Safety
Fugitive Queens Murder Suspect Arrested In LA
When police arrested a man wanted for rape and murder in New York, he was allegedly holding another woman against her will in Los Angeles.
LOS ANGELES, CA — A man wanted for rape and murder in New York was arrested in Los Angeles Thursday where police allege he was holding another woman against her will at a North Hollywood hotel.
Twenty-seven-year-old Danueal Drayton, of Connecticut, is suspected of murdering Samantha Stewart, a 29-year-old nurse in Queens and raping another. When police arrested him at 5 p.m. Thursday, he was holding another woman hostage, authorities said.
Kenneth Stewart, Samantha Stewart's father, praised police for saving another woman from suffering his daughter's fate.
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“Right after he commits a gruesome murder here and destroys my family, he went to California and just almost did the same thing,” he told CBS. “Thank God they catch him before he could destroy another family.”
Before Stewart was found dead in her Queens apartment from trauma to her head an neck, police allege Drayton raped a young woman in Brooklyn.
Find out what's happening in Queensfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Police believe Drayton met his alleged victims through an online dating site and that others were possibly victimized.
When we captured Danuel Drayton in LA for the murder of Queens nurse Samantha Stewart, he had another victim held captive. He's off the streets but may have victimized others via online dating sites. Need help or have info? Call 800-577-TIPS/ sex crimes hotline 212-267-RAPE pic.twitter.com/iif7E9KuyA
— Chief Dermot F. Shea (@NYPDDetectives) July 26, 2018
City News Service contributed to this report. Photo courtesy of the New York Police Department
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