Squatter who beat Manhattan homeowner to death used terrifying tool in sick attack: prosecutors

A ruthless teen squatter who helped beat a mother to death inside a Manhattan apartment admitted to bashing the doomed woman five times with a metal frying pan, it was revealed at her sentencing Friday.The grisly new detail was unearthed as Kensley Alston, 20, was sentenced to 20 years-to-life in prison for bludgeoning beloved mom Natalie Vitels, after the woman found her and boyfriend, Halley Tejada, holed up in Vitels’ Kips Bay apartment in 2024.Vitels’ heartbroken son, Misha, 23, said in a victim impact speech that even he didn’t know the gruesome detail to the murder.“(Alston) took the woman who had gave so much and was just about to get some back,” Misha Vitels said in a victim impact statement.The shattered son shared his horrors and paranoia he gets every day since his mother’s sickening murder.“I replay what happened in that apartment in my head constantly,” Misha said, “I can’t feel secure anywhere.”Alston, who appeared in a pink polo shirt and jeans, mustered up a soft-spoken “I’m sorry” when given the chance to speak before Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Rachel Pauley issued the sentence.Alston, who was 18 at the time, and her boyfriend Halley Tejada, then 19, had been squatting for days inside Vitels’ vacant apartment before the doomed mom came home and found them, Manhattan prosecutors have said.Vitels demanded they leave — but the duo went off the rails and threatened to kill her.They then chased Vitels to a bedroom, where they beat her to death.At one point during the attack, the callous Alston allegedly told Tejada to put shoes on while kicking his victim so he didn’t hurt his feet.They eventually stuffed Vitels’ body inside a duffle bag and put it in a closet — while she was still breathing, officials said.The victim was found two days later.Vitels’ injuries included skull fractures and broken ribs — injuries prosecutors have described consistent to being “struck by a train” or falling from great height...