By Eric Jankiewicz and Madina Toure
A former resident of a homeless shelter in the Bronx tried to rape, then shot and killed a Whitestone mother who served as the shelter’s director late Monday afternoon, the NYPD said.
The woman, identified as Ana Charle, 36, a native of Spain, was found with a gunshot wound to the head lying on the sidewalk in front of 4366 Bullard Ave., according to the police.
Before shooting her, the suspect allegedly ordered her into the back seat of her Honda and told her to take off her clothes, the New York Post reported.
He also allegedly stripped naked and attempted to rape her, but she fled from the car, the Post said.
Charle, who served as director of Project Renewal’s Bronx Boulevard at 4380 Bronx Blvd. in the Wakefield section of the Bronx, was taken to Montefiore Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
West Spruill, 39, of 8 E. 109th St. in Manhattan, was arrested later in day and a firearm was recovered, police said.
Charle had worked at the shelter serving 108 mentally ill men, many of whom have addiction problems, since it opened in 2013.
Spruill was charged with murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon, according to the complaint filed by Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson.
At about 5:45 p.m. Monday, Spruill allegedly shot Charle multiple times with a loaded firearm, according to the complaint.
A black .40 Smith & Wesson MMP handgun from Spruill’s black shoulder bag was recovered from the scene, the complaint said.
The investigation was ongoing, police said.
Neighbors in the quiet, manicured section of Whitestone where she lived described Charle as a reserved woman who spent a lot of time with her two daughters.
“No one really knew her very well because she was so quiet,” said Tom Smith, a neighbor. “She’d go to work and come home and that’s it.”
“But she was always respectful and a great neighbor,” Smith said.
She would take her girls to school every morning, he said.
“I would speak to her daughters sometimes,” he said. “I wonder what will happen to them. It’s horrible.”
Another neighbor, who asked not to be named, expressed sadness over the incident.
“It’s hard to think that what was done to her was committed by another human,” the neighbor said. “This is actually terrible. She committed so much and that was her thanks.”
Reach reporter Madina Toure by e-mail at mtour
