A man has been charged with second degree murder after he said he strangled a woman to death in a dispute over her charges for sex and tried to hide her body by shoving it into a suitcase, police said on Tuesday.
Hassan Malik, 55, of New York City was due to be arraigned in court later in the day. Malik was arrested on Monday night after police tracked him to a suburban apartment.
According to police, Malik confessed to the December 22 murder, saying he had killed the victim, Betty Williams, 28, in a dispute after she wanted more money for sex than they had agreed on in advance.
The arrest came after police released surveillance footage of a man believed to be Malik walking down a sidewalk in a Harlem neighborhood dragging a suitcase.
Shortly thereafter, nearby residents discovered an abandoned suitcase with a leg sticking out of it near a popular Italian restaurant. Police were called to the scene and found Williams stuffed inside.
After releasing the video, police learned from a tipster that Malik was hiding in Sleepy Hollow about 30 miles north of the city, where with local police cooperation they arrested him on Monday night without incident.