Queens woman pleads not guilty to killing building super who was collecting rent, DA says
Jan. 16, 2025, 3:44 p.m.
Officials said the super, whose body was found in garbage bags under a bed, died in part from blunt force trauma to his head.
A Queens woman who allegedly killed her building’s superintendent over a possible rent dispute is facing 25 years to life in prison if convicted of a murder charge prosecutors brought on Thursday, according to the district attorney’s office.
Sandra Coto-Navarro, 48, was arrested in connection with the death of Jose Portillo, 55, whom police discovered dead and wrapped in garbage bags under a bed in Coto-Navarro’s apartment in Kew Gardens Hills on Tuesday. Police and prosecutors said Portillo had entered the unit that morning to collect unpaid rent on the landlord's behalf.
Coto-Navarro faces multiple charges, including second-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence, according to the Queens DA’s office. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges, prosecutors said.
A judge ordered her held until her next court appearance, which was scheduled for Friday. Her attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Queens DA Melinda Katz called Portillo’s death “heinous” and added that Coto-Navarro is accused of trying to dismember his body and bleach the bedroom where it was found. “This is not the way a civilized society operates,” Katz said in a statement.
According to prosecutors, Portillo’s coworkers grew worried about him on Tuesday evening after not hearing from him all day. When police arrived at the home on 70th Avenue and 137th Street around 5 p.m. to conduct a wellness check, Coto-Navarro initially said she had paid Portillo $23,000 and he had left, prosecutors alleged. When pressed further, she eventually indicated that Portillo’s body was under the bed, court documents state.
NYPD officers then saw what appeared to be the shape of a human body wrapped in clothing and black garbage bags, according to the DA’s office. Prosecutors said the officers also noticed a mop, a strong smell of bleach, and what appeared to be blood in the bedroom.
Authorities deemed the incident a homicide two days after the grim discovery. The city medical examiner’s office said Portillo died in part from blunt force trauma to his head, which had been inflicted by a heavy object.
This story has been updated with additional information.
Man found dead in garbage bags under bed in Queens home was collecting rent, NYPD says