Uniondale man charged in death of pregnant Hempstead woman found in Bayside, NYPD says
Family photo of Vanessa Pierre, of Hempstead. Pierre's body was found "facedown on the sidewalk," along the Horace Harding Expressway in Bayside early Friday, police said. A news release from the Queens district attorney's office said they have arrested a man identified as Goey Charles, 29, of Uniondal and charged him with second-degree murder in connection with the death of Pierre who was pregnant.. Credit: Melissa Pierre
A Uniondale man has been arrested by the NYPD and charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of a pregnant Hempstead woman whose body was found along the Horace Harding Expressway in Bayside early Friday, police said.
Police said the man, identified as Goey Charles, 29, was the boyfriend of the victim, identified by police as Vanessa Pierre, also 29.
The body of Pierre was found "facedown on the sidewalk," according to a tweet Tuesday morning from NYPD Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison. A news release from the Queens district attorney's office said she had gray sweatpants wrapped around her neck.
Pierre was found in front of 216-13 Horace Harding Expressway, which parallels the Long Island Expressway, by an MTA bus driver who reported the discovery in a 911 call at 6 a.m., police said.
Hours before the discovery, according to video surveillance, he pulled over on the road, got out of the driver’s side of a 2019 white Dodge Challenger, which is registered to the victim, and "moved to the backseat where Ms. Pierre could be seen moving on the video footage," according to the news release.
The video shows the victim then stopped moving and later and Charles is seen dragging her onto the sidewalik, police said.
Pierre, six months pregnant, was looking forward to being a mom and had a name picked out for the girl – Egypt -- said the woman's 27-year-old sister, Melissa Pierre, in an interview.
"Vanessa wanted a family. She wanted kids. She was ready for all those things, and I guess she told him that he wanted those things, and I guess he told her he could give her those things, and they jumped right into it," she said.
In the interview, Melissa Pierre said: "My sister has a lot going for her, she has credit. She's a sweet girl. She's very kind. She's loved by everyone."
Charles was arrested Monday evening after an interrogation at the 111th Precinct in Queens, police said
The NYPD said the medical examiner will determine an official cause of death, but said initial indications are Pierre was strangled.
With John Valenti
Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.
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