NEW YORK – A housekeeping manager at a luxury Manhattan hotel is charged with killing a woman who was strangled and had a kitchen knife stuck in her neck.
Longtime hotel employee Derrick Praileu was held without bail following his arraignment Sunday on a second-degree murder charge. His lawyer, Richard Siracusa, declined to comment.
A maid found the body of Andree Bejjani on Saturday in a condo at the Jumeriah Essex House. The art deco tower is near upscale Fifth Avenue shops.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly says it doesn’t appear the two had a “previous relationship.”
The hotel issued a statement offering condolences to the victim’s family.
Police said Bejjani worked in real estate investment and had lived in Dubai. She leased the condo and had been there since August.