What Happened to Nadia Vitels?
The apartment had belonged to Vitels’ late mother. After her mother died, Vitels was “getting ready to move to New York City where she would conquer the world,” her son said at her funeral. “She was so excited to move into the city.”
At one point, however, investigators believe Vitels found a man and a woman in the unit. They had somehow gotten in via the building’s elevator, which opened directly into the unit—though it wasn’t entirely clear how, as the elevator required a key.
“The apartment itself had been vacant for three to four months prior,” Joseph Kenny, chief of detectives for the New York Police Department, told NBC New York. “We believe that some squatters took the apartment over and this woman came home to get this apartment set up and walked in on the squatters that were there.”
On March 12, 2024, police say 19-year-old Halley Tejada and 18-year-old Kensly Alston beat Vitels to death, causing numerous facial fractures, a brain bleed and two broken ribs. The official cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.
After hiding her body in the closet, they tossed many of Vitels’ belongings down the garbage chute, stole her car and fled to Pennsylvania. They crashed the vehicle just outside of Harrisburg, Pa., but got away before local police ran the license plate.
Prosecutors allege the duo also embarked on a shopping spree, buying a vape at a smoke shop and a suitcase at Target, as well as a PlayStation 5, Apple AirPods, clothing, food and a diamond ring—all with Vitels’ credit cards.
‘All of It Was Ripped Away’
United States Marshals eventually tracked the pair down and took them into custody in York, Pa., on March 22, 2024.
Tejada and Alston pleaded guilty to one count each of second-degree murder and were sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for “brutally murdering” Vitels, a mother who was “starting a new chapter in her life,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. said in a statement.
“While I hope today’s sentencing can provide some closure, it will not bring Ms. Vitels back,” he added. “My heart is with her loved ones who continue to feel her loss every day.”
Vitels grew up in Moscow, but moved on her own to Stillwater, Okla., for college. According to her son, she had an opportunity to work for the CIA but decided to move to Miami to attend graduate school instead. She then worked for Canon, Nokia and Sugarpova, the candy line founded by professional tennis player Maria Sharapova.
“No matter how tough things got, she built her entire life out of nothing,” her son said at Tejada’s sentencing hearing. “She sacrificed everything so I can have stability, opportunities and a sense of security.”
After spending three years caring for her elderly parents, she was “excited to build a life that was truly her own,” her son added.
“In an instant, all of it was ripped away,” he said. "This animal didn’t just take her life—he stole the years she had left to live for herself. That sense of safety she’s given me, my rock…is gone forever. That animal stole my mother.”
What Is Squatting?
Not every squatting dispute turns violent. But as Vitels’ murder demonstrates, these situations can become complicated—and, in some cases, dangerous.
A squatter is someone who occupies a property without permission from the owner—but whether this behavior constitutes a crime varies from state to state, Seann Malloy, founder and managing partner at Malloy Law Offices, tells A&E Crime + Investigation.
Squatters typically target vacant properties, such as homes tied up in probate, undergoing foreclosure or renovations, used seasonally or owned by people who travel frequently. The rightful owners may face property damage, theft and costly delays in reclaiming possession of their home, Mallory says.
Most situations are resolved through legal procedures, Malloy adds, however, “not all contacts [are] peaceful.”
There is no one-size-fits-all profile of someone who becomes a squatter, Pete Vernig, a psychologist and vice president of mental health services at Recovery Centers of America, tells A&E Crime + Investigation. People end up occupying vacant properties for a wide range of reasons, from financial hardship and relationship issues to homelessness and addiction, he says.
“Someone might initially enter a vacant home for shelter and eventually escalate to squatting,” he continues. “They may only intend to stay a brief time, but over time, their comfort increases. They may create a new narrative for themselves, such as ‘this is my home’ and at times they may even believe it. It can take several events, such as confrontations with the actual owner or police, to shake them out of it.”
When confronted by the property owner, a squatter may feel threatened and the fight, flight or freeze response might kick in—especially if they’ve internalized the narrative about the property being their home, Vernig adds.
“A property owner asserting their rights is a threat to the life they have created there and to their psychological equilibrium,” he says. “There exists a potential for violence at this point.”
A recent analysis of civil court records finds squatting is on the rise in some states, though there are no definitive national statistics showing how widespread the practice is, according to the The New York Times. Rising housing costs may be a contributing factor.
“We have an oversupply of housing that is very unaffordable, and we have rising rates of homelessness across the country,” Claire W. Herbert, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Oregon, tells the Times.
