A man has been charged with second degree murder after he said he strangled a woman to death in a dispute over her charges for sex and tried to hide her body by shoving it into a suitcase
Hassan Malik, 55, of New York City, was arrested this week after police tracked him to a suburban apartment.
According to police, Malik confessed to the December 22 murder, saying he had killed the victim, Betty Williams, 28, in a dispute after she wanted more money for sex than they had agreed on in advance.
The arrest came after police released surveillance footage of a man believed to be Malik walking down a sidewalk in a Harlem neighbourhood dragging a suitcase.
Shortly thereafter, nearby residents discovered an abandoned suitcase with a leg sticking out of it near a popular Italian restaurant. Police were called to the scene and found Williams stuffed inside.
After releasing the video, police learned from a tipster that Malik was hiding in Sleepy Hollow about 30 miles north of the city, where with local police cooperation they arrested him without incident.