By Rocco Parascandola
Newsday
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The suspect nabbed in Brooklyn for the Florida murder of a John Jay College graduate was located after police traced calls he made from his cell phone, police sources said yesterday.
Florida authorities told the New York Police Department in early January that they suspected Kendrick Williams, 32, was likely in New York City after allegedly killing Stepha Henry, 22, in Sunrise, Fla., the NYPD has said.
But after a couple of near misses, the NYPD was able to catch Williams after tracking him based on his cell phone use.
Williams was arrested Tuesday morning on the Canarsie pier as he slept in his black Maxima, in which it appears he had been living.
Williams is fighting extradition and is being held without bail until a Feb. 15 hearing. He has been charged with second-degree murder and evidence tampering. His lawyer has refused comment.
The Miami-Dade Police Department is still searching for Henry’s body, but they said they believe she is dead. “We’re hoping he’ll lead us to a body,” Miami-Dade Det. Nelda Finticiella said of Williams.
Henry was an honors student who wanted to pursue a career in law. She graduated from Manhattan’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 2006 and was preparing for law school admission while working in John Jay’s recruiting office.
She and her younger sister, Shola, had gone to Florida to celebrate Shola’s birthday. Stepha Henry was reported missing after a night out at Pepper’s Café. Surveillance video showed her and the suspect there together on May 29 and early May 30, Miami-Dade police said. That was the last time Henry was seen alive.
Henry’s mother has said her daughter knew Williams as a friend but was not dating him.
Williams, who split his time between Florida and New York and was self-employed, buying and selling cars, has claimed that he left the club early, with Henry staying behind, Miami-Dade police said. It’s unclear whether there is video showing them leaving together.
The pier where Williams was found, as it turns out, is one Belt Parkway exit away from East New York, where in February 2006 the bound body of another John Jay student, Imette St. Guillen, 24, was found.
The pending case against the man accused of killing her, Darryl Littlejohn, was also built in part with the help of cell phone technology, with police and T-Mobile technicians tracing the pings from his phone that were sent to a nearby tower.
Police sources said such technology helped place Littlejohn near where St. Guillen’s body was found.
Copyright 2008 Newsday