Pair plead not guilty in slaying of woman, 18
A Southbridge man accused of plotting the slaying of his former girlfriend during a trip to New York was held without bail at the city's Rikers Island jail after pleading not guilty yesterday, prosecutors said.
Carlos Cruz, 36, was arraigned in Bronx Criminal Court along with his cousin, Devon Miller, 25, who police contend was the triggerman in the slaying of 18-year-old Chelsea Frazier. Both face charges of first- and second-degree murder, along with weapons charges.
The two men pleaded not guilty before Judge Judith Lieb, said Melvin Hernandez, a spokesman in the Bronx district attorney's office.
A pretrial hearing is slated for tomorrow.
"Obviously, they deny the charges. It's a tragedy all around, for everyone involved," said John Sandleitner, defense lawyer for the two men.
Frazier was found shortly after 4 p.m. Sunday in the driver's seat of her car in the Bronx with two gunshot wounds in the torso. Her 1-year-old son, Alijah, fathered by Cruz, was in the back seat at the time. The toddler is now in the care of Frazier's family.
Cruz paid Miller to kill Frazier, a New York detective said in a criminal complaint released by the district attorney's office. Cruz had originally said an unknown gunman tried to rob the pair.
Family and friends said the killing was done in retaliation after Frazier broke off her engagement with Cruz. 