Detectives collared two homeless men Sunday who are accused of murdering a 19-year-old girl and hiding her body in a plastic bag inside an abandoned building near Lower Manhattan’s South Street Seaport, police reported.
Austin Boehm, 25, and Christian Mercado, 20, face second-degree murder charges for the death of Rosalee Sanchez, 19, whose body was found inside the building at 95 South St. on the morning of March 6.
Sanchez was believed to be a squatter inside the building where officers from the 1st Precinct located her body at about 9:20 a.m. Saturday morning. Sources familiar with the case said it’s believed the victim may have been dead for several days before her body was discovered.
Law enforcement sources said Boehm and Mercado were present at the scene when cops arrived there Saturday, and were allegedly linked by detectives to Sanchez’s death as the investigation unfolded.
Their relationship between the victim, however, was not fully disclosed.
Upon arriving at the scene, authorities said, cops found the 19-year-old woman inside a second-floor room, wrapped in plastic bags. Responding EMS units pronounced her dead at the scene.
Sanchez’s body was transported to the Medical Examiner’s office for an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
