By Philip Newman
A Queens County grand jury has indicted a 27-year-old Jamaica man on charges of murder and arson in the death of a 25-year-old woman whose charred remains were found in the bathtub of an apartment the two shared, the district attorney said.
“This was a heinous crime,” said Queens DA Richard Brown. “A young woman was killed and her remains burned from head to toe in her own bathtub. The defendant fled the scene but was found in Florida and extradited back to Queens to face charges. If convicted the defendant will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars.”
Brown identified the defendant as Carlos Pineda (aka Carlos Leon) of 90th Avenue in Jamaica. He was arraigned Tuesday before Supreme Court Justice Gregory Lasak on an eight-count indictment, charging him with second-degree murder, arson, reckless endangerment and tampering with physical evidence. He is being held without bail and will return to court March 10.
If convicted, Pendeda could get up to 25 years in prison, the DA said.
Brown said that according to the charges, between Oct. 16, 2015 and Oct.17, 2005, Pineda allegedly killed his live-in girlfriend, Miriam Lucrecia Samayoa Veliz, by choking her.
Pineda was observed on video survelliance leaving the apartment building just after 3 a.m. Oct. 17 and seen returning to the location with a red container commonly used to hold gasoline some 20 minutes later. Pineda is alleged to have been seen on surveillance video leaving the building again around 3:53 a.m., just before a 911 call reporting a fire at the occupied location, Brown said, First responders discovered the burned remains of Veliz in the bathtub.
