Four men have been charged in connection to the death of a Queens woman who was found in the trunk of a car.
Authorities say that at 1:49 a.m. on April 14, officers from the 101st Precinct saw spotted the men placing a large object inside the trunk of a Nissan Altima sedan parked in front of Foam Place in Far Rockaway. The men then piled into the sedan and began to drive away.
The officers followed and conducted a car stop in the vicinity of Nassau Expressway and Bayview Avenue. The investigation found 31-year-old Nazareth Claure, of 25-66 Bessemund Ave. in Far Rockaway, in the trunk unconscious and unresponsive, and wrapped within a blanket.
EMS rushed to the location and declared Claure dead at the scene. The Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death.
The four men were taken into custody at the scene. As a result of the investigation, police also arrested 22-year-old Allan Lopez, who police said in a press conference was Claure’s boyfriend and is a member of the MS-13 gang, on April 15. He was not at the scene where Claure’s body was found. Lopez was charged with murder, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a controlled substance.
Police also charged Jose Sarmiento, 21, Rigel Yohairo, 20, and Rodolfo Lopez, 26. Sarmiento and Yohairo were charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon, while Rodolfo Lopez was charged with concealment of a human corpse and tampering with physical evidence.
At this time, it is not clear what the motive behind the murder was. The investigation is ongoing.
Additional reporting by Dean Moses
