(JTA) — A Brooklyn construction worker was found guilty of kidnapping and murdering Hasidic real estate developer Menachem Stark.
Kendel Felix, 28, faces 25 years to life in prison for the murder of Stark, whose body was found on Jan. 3, 2014, in a dumpster on suburban Long Island some 16 miles from his Brooklyn office nearly a day after he was abducted. Police said he was suffocated and his body burned.
Felix, who was employed by a contractor hired by Stark, was arrested on April 30, 2014, and admitted that he and two accomplices accidentally suffocated Stark after forcing him into a minivan following a struggle on the street outside the office in the Williamsburg section and sitting on his chest.
He and his alleged accomplices reportedly were linked to the crime by evidence discovered in the van used to kidnap Stark, a father of seven. A security camera outside Stark’s office had captured a video recording of the kidnapping.
“This defendant waited for Menachem Stark outside of his office and forcibly kidnapped him, killing him in the process,” Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson said in a statement. “As a result, his wife and seven children were robbed of their husband and father. The jury has now held him accountable for his actions.”
The investigation is continuing into the alleged accomplices, who have not been charged, the District Attorney’s Office told the New York Daily News.
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