By Madina Toure
A Brooklyn man and former Queens resident has been indicted on murder, robbery and other charges in connection with the death of an Elmhurst woman whose body was found disemboweled in Kissena Park in Flushing in October, the Queens district attorney said.
Christopher Sobers, 25, who lived in Queens until October, has been charged with murder, robbery, criminal possession of a weapon, tampering with physical evidence and criminal possession of stolen property, according to DA Richard Brown.
Sobers and the victim, Qing Qing Kiemde, 28, were friends, according to a police spokeswoman.
He was arraigned before Acting Queens Supreme Court Justice Joel Blumenfeld Tuesday, Brown said.
Sobers was remanded and his next court date is Jan. 29. If convicted, he faces up to 25 years to life in prison, the DA said.
“The crime scene in this case was horrific,” Brown said. “The victim was brutally killed and her bloody body mutilated and disemboweled. The defendant is now in custody and faces spending the rest of his life in prison if convicted.”
At about 2:52 p.m. Oct. 10, police responded to a call of an unconscious individual inside Kissena Park in the vicinity of Colden Street and Laburnum Avenue, according to police officials.
When they arrived, they found Kiemde, who was fully clothed, unconscious and unresponsive with slash wounds to the neck and stomach, police said.
EMS responded and Kiemde was pronounced dead at the scene and the incident was ruled a homicide, officials said.
Sobers allegedly stabbed and cut Kiemde multiple times about the neck and torso with a sharp cutting instrument, according to the indictment.
He also allegedly took her cell phone and removed the device’s unique serial number, the indictment said.
Kiemde’s body was found by a homeless man, the indictment added.
An employee at 88 Bakery & Café at 82-79 Broadway in Elmhurst where Kiemde worked had described her as a hard and diligent worker.
She said she noticed that something was bothering Kiemde about a week before her death, but Kiemde said she was OK.
She and her husband, Felicien Kiemde, with whom she had been living in the Bronx, divorced last year, according to The New York Times.
The investigation was conducted by the NYPD with help from Queens Assistant District Attorney Amanda Fix of Brown’s Homicide Investigations Bureau.
Reach reporter Madina Toure by e-mail at mtour
