A Queens woman charged with murdering a building manager this week used a pipe in a nauseating attack and mutilated the lifeless victim before hiding the body in a garbage bag under the bed. He even tried to do so, prosecutors said.
Police and prosecutors said Sandra Cotonavarro, 48, was accused of second-degree assault when she attacked Jose Portillo, 55, while trying to collect $24,000 in unpaid rent from the woman and her husband. He was charged with murder.
Ms Cotonavaro, who was alone in her Kew Gardens unit when she allegedly carried out the murder, claimed she used a pipe to kill her but it didn't matter because “her fingerprints wouldn't be on it”. to police and criminal charges.
A doctor with the city medical examiner's office determined that Portillo had “multiple blunt force trauma” to his head and that a “heavy object” was used to inflict the injuries, according to court documents.
Doctors said the victim also suffered “post-mortem sharp impact injuries to the neck and left leg near the knee.”
Sources and prosecutors said Portillo entered Coto-Navarro's 70th Street apartment with her husband around 8:40 a.m. to discuss unpaid rent.
Officials said the property owner told investigators he saw Portillo enter the couple's apartment but did not see him leave.
Officials said Portillo's brother requested a medical exam when Portillo still hadn't come out.
When officers first responded to the couple's unit, Coto-Navarro claimed Portillo had been there earlier that day and that she had paid Portillo $23,000 to leave, according to the complaint.
However, that story was proven false, as surveillance camera footage never showed him leaving, court documents said.
When officers returned, the woman's husband, who had not been charged in connection with the murder, led them “to the body,” police officials said.
Portillo's body was discovered around 5 p.m. wrapped in clothes and a black trash bag, stuffed under a bed, according to the complaint.
He was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.
There was a strong odor of bleach in the apartment, a mop was visible in the bedroom, and there were blood stains on the bottom of the bed and near the dresser, marring the pristine appearance of the apartment, the court clerk said.
“This was a horrific murder,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement. “As alleged, the defendant not only murdered the property manager in an attempt to collect rent, but also dismembered the lifeless victim, wrapped the body in black trash bags, and attempted to bleach the area.”
“Lives are now being lost and families are thrown into turmoil as the defendant allegedly chose to resolve a rent dispute with violence,” Katz added. “This is not how a civilized society works. The defendant will be tried for this heinous murder.”
Cotonavaro was also charged with tampering with physical evidence and weapons possession and was ordered held without bail during his arraignment early Friday morning.
If convicted, she could face 25 years in prison.
“It's crazy,” a woman who identified herself as the victim's ex-wife told The Post outside the apartment Thursday. “I want to see her. The one who hit him. The one who killed him. I want to see her.”
Alison Atlas, 31, who lives next door and works as a psychologist, said her neighbors were “all completely shocked” by the murder.
“None of us can believe this,” Atlas said. “We all cared about him and liked him! He was a good guy, a really nice guy. Even if I said something, he was very thoughtful. He was kind.”
