By Madina Toure
A Whitestone man has been charged with murdering his girlfriend, a Queens Village mother, who was ending her relationship with him, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said Tuesday.
The body of Angie Escobar, 28, was found in the trunk of her father’s car, which Luis Zambrano, 30, was last seen driving Sept. 10 at about 8:36 p.m., according to the police.
Zambrano was arraigned Tuesday before Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder, according to Brown.
He faces charges of murder, criminal possession of a weapon, grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, petit larceny, unauthorized use of a vehicle, attempted petit larceny and intimidating a victim or witness, Brown said.
If convicted, he faces up to 25 years to life in prison, Brown said. He was ordered held without bail and to return to court Feb. 3.
Zambrano is accused of repeatedly stabbing Escobar with a pair of scissors on or about Sept. 6, Brown said.
Escobar was last seen Sept. 4 and was reported missing by her family four days later, he said.
Her decomposing body was found Sept. 10 in the trunk of her 2004 Nissan Maxima, which was abandoned near 22nd Avenue and Murray Street, Brown added.
Zambrano was arrested in Daleville, Va., Sept. 18 and charged with being a fugitive from justice because he was wanted in a different state, police said.
He went before the magistrate the day he was arrested and was arraigned by a judge that afternoon and waived extradition, said Delbert Dudding, Botetourt County’s deputy chief.
Zambrano was eventually returned to New York and was being held on a parole violation, according to a spokeswoman for the Queens district attorney.
The investigation was conducted by the 109th Precinct’s Detective Squad with assistance from the Queens South Homicide Squad, the Botetourt County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia and U.S. Marshal Aaron Helton and his team, also in Virginia, among others.
A GoFundMe page set up Sept. 11 asking for donations for Escobar’s two children and her funeral arrangements had raised $20,092 from 291 people in two months as of Wednesday afternoon.
Reach reporter Madina Toure by e-mail at mtour
