KIPS BAY, Manhattan (PIX11) – The man accused of dumping a woman’s body in a bag on a street in Manhattan allegedly threatened people with a gun after they confronted him on Monday about her death, police said.
Chad Irish, 55, is charged with concealment of a human corpse in connection with the death of 31-year-old Yazmeen Williams, according to the NYPD.
Williams was found dead wrapped inside a sleeping bag left among garbage bags on the street at 207 East 27th St. between Third and Second avenues in Kips Bay on Friday, police said. Williams had been fatally shot in the head, police said.
Surveillance video showed a man in a wheelchair using a dolly to haul Williams’ body to the spot on East 27th Street where she was found dead, police said.
Yazmeen Williams (Credit: Family handout) NYPD detectives used the surveillance video to track the suspect back to the nearby Straus Houses, where Irish was arrested on Monday, police said.
People from the community confronted Irish outside the Straus Houses earlier in the day before his arrest, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.
Irish got into arguments with people in two separate incidents that day outside the Straus Houses, police said. In both incidents, Irish allegedly threatened the people with a gun, according to police.
The NYPD chief spoke about one of the incidents.
“Several people from the neighborhood were quite angry with Mr. Irish over [Williams’ death] and they surrounded him,” Kenny said. “He produced a pistol and menaced them. He then fled the location back to his apartment where he was placed under arrest by detectives and patrol.”
Irish was charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon and two counts of menacing for both incidents, police said.
Irish was then stormed by a crowd of angry neighbors at the Straus Houses as he was taken into custody, video of the incident showed. Police and medics had to shield him from the crowd as he was taken away on a stretcher.
“They more or less surrounded him like a mob and started to attack him,” said witness Ted Oehmke.
A memorial for Yazmeen Williams in Kips Bay, Manhattan (Credit: PIX11 News)Kenny believes Williams was killed in Irish’s apartment in the Straus Houses. She was last seen alive on June 23, according to police.
NYPD investigators searched Irish’s apartment but didn't find the gun used to kill Williams, police said Wednesday.
“We’re still working on the homicide itself,” Kenny said about the investigation. “We’re doing what we normally do to try to tie him to this murder.”
Williams and Irish knew each other, according to police. She stayed with Irish at times at the Straus Houses, Kenny said.
“I’m not sure if their relationship was romantic or if it was more convenient. She would just stay with him. I’m sure there was some narcotics arrangement involved,” Kenny said.
The NYPD chief said police learned from witnesses and family members that Williams may have recently began taking drugs. Irish has a history of drug possession, according to Kenny.
NYPD detectives are investigating whether the motive behind the killing of Williams was drug-related, police said.
Family members of Williams previously told PIX11 News they didn’t know why someone would want to kill her.
“She’s sweet. She’s a nice person,” Williams’ aunt, Nisha Ramirez, said.
Williams was known in the community as someone who would help people. She graduated from Buffalo State University and was about to begin a new job at the New York City Housing Authority.
Finn Hoogensen is a digital journalist who has covered local news for more than five years. He has been with PIX11 News since 2022. See more of his work here.
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