Chinatown man charged with murder in strangulation death

(New York-WABC, October 10, 2007) (WABC) -- A Chinatown man is charged with murder. Now we're learning more about how police say the woman he's accused of killing died.

Eyewitness News' Tim Fleischer reports.

This suspect, the 29-year old man arrested, is being arraigned on murder charges. And the medical examiner has now determined how the woman was killed.

The news of murder in this largely apartment complex, occupied primarily by Asian residents, surprised many.

And equally surprising, residents are now learning that 29-year old Michael Lenehan, living in an apartment on the 39th floor, is being charged in that murder.

"It's very unnerving, shocking frankly," said resident Rhonda Jung.

Responding to a call, police and EMS discovered the woman dead in Lenehans apartment.

Investigators reveal the suspect claims the couple had met Saturday at a club then ending up at the apartment he shares with his grandmother at 20 Confucius Plaza. The medical examiner says the woman, in her 30s and believed to be from Puerto Rico, died from a compression of the neck, a strangulation. Her body reportedly had been in the apartment for three days.

Long-time residents like Rhonda Jung find the murder disturbing.

"It's a very quiet building, you never hear of anything like that. Very unsettling, actually," Jung said.

The identity of the woman killed has not been released. Authorities are still trying to locate her family in Puerto Rico in order to notify them.

Lenahan was interviewed by detectives and charged with murder.

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