Police have arrested a Manhattan man for allegedly stabbing his roommate to death, then dismembering him and dumping part of his body into the East River — all because of a dispute over food, sources familiar with the case said.
Christian Millet, 24, was booked Wednesday night on second-degree murder charges in the heinous killing of his roommate, Edwin Echevarria, 65. Both men had resided inside an apartment at 60 Columbia St. on the Lower East Side, within the 7th Precinct‘s confines.
According to sources familiar with the investigation, Millet and Echevarria had become embroiled in an argument inside the residence over food. The beef turned bloody, the sources said, when Millet allegedly went on the attack, stabbing Echevarria about his body up to 13 times with a knife.
Following the killing, Millet allegedly dismembered the senior before wrapping his torso in a sleeping bag and stuffing it in a suitcase that he later dumped into the East River. The whereabouts of the rest of Echevarria’s remains are unknown.
Parts of Echevarria’s body were found in a suitcase floating in the East River on the evening of Feb. 5, not far from Governors Island. A ferry crew spotted the suitcase bobbing on the frigid waters and attempted to retrieve it, but the crew members could not haul it in because it weighed too much.
The crew then notified the NYPD Harbor Unit, which retrieved the suitcase, transported it to Pier 16 in the Financial District, and made the gruesome discovery.
Millet was taken into custody at his home and charged on Feb. 12 while in custody at the 7th Precinct’s stationhouse.
On Thursday, detectives escorted Millet in handcuffs out of the 7th Precinct and into a waiting police car for transfer to Manhattan Criminal Court. He said nothing during the perp walk as reporters asked him why he allegedly committed the heinous crime.
Updated on Feb. 13 at 10:41 a.m.
