An East Elmhurst man was sentenced to more than 22 years in prison for strangling his landlord to death in 2023 during a confrontation over unpaid rent.
Davi Vidal, 21, of 96th Street, pleaded guilty last month to manslaughter in the first degree in satisfaction of the indictment against him for killing his 55-year-old landlord Zoraida Leo. Vidal, also known as Veiby Vidal, leased an attic apartment at the victim’s multi-unit residence at 32-32 96th St. for two years before the fatal attack.
According to the indictment and investigation, on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023, Leo told a witness that she wanted to talk to Vidal about back rent he owed her for his apartment and she summoned Vidal to her apartment at around 7:30 p.m. that evening. Vidal and his landlady argued over the rent and the dispute turned physical. Vidal strangled the victim to death with his hands and the cord from an iron.
On Dec. 5, at approximately 5 p.m., Leo’s son came to check on his mother after she missed work and family members had been unable to contact her. When Leo did not answer the door, her son entered her apartment and discovered his mother’s body at the entrance to a bathroom. He called the police.
When officers from the 115th Precinct responded to the call, they found Vidal at the scene. He was crying and had scratch marks on his face.
EMS pronounced Leo dead at the scene. An autopsy by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that Leo died by strangulation, according to the charges.
“The defendant brutally attacked Zoraide Leo after a rent dispute and then callously left her to die on the floor of her own home,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.
On Friday, Feb. 29, Queens Supreme Court Justice Ushir Pandit-Durant sentenced Vidal to 22 ½ years in prison to be followed by five years of post-release supervision.
“No family should endure the loss of a loved one in such a cruel manner,” Katz said. “We cannot undo this egregious harm, but with this sentence we have helped secure justice for Ms. Leo’s family.”
