Thread: Illegal kills actress

Cops: Actress slain after noise complaint
By Rocco Parascandola
Newsday Staff Writer


November 7, 2006
Her family's insistence that actress Adrienne Shelly would never take her own life, a mysterious sneaker print at the Greenwich Village murder scene, and detectives' discovery that the apartment beneath Shelly's was being renovated -- these were prime factors that police sources Monday said led to the arrest of a suspect in the slaying.

Diego Pillco, 19, of Sunset Park, a handyman who was working in the apartment being renovated, was charged with second-degree murder in the popular indie-film actress's death on Thursday, police said.




Sources said Pillco confessed to detectives Monday that he was angry that Shelly, 40, had complained about the noise he was making as he worked. He told police he beat her and tried to make it appear as if she had committed suicide, using a bedsheet to hang the actress from a shower rod in the bathroom of the Abingdon Square apartment she used as an office, the sources said.

Shelly's husband, Andrew Ostroy, who found her body Thursday, said in a statement Monday night, "My wife's senseless death is devastating to me, our families and friends. We are incredibly grateful to the New York City Police Department for their dedication, professionalism and tenacity in following up on every lead in this case."

Shelly -- born Adrienne Levine in Queens and reared on Long Island, where she attended Jericho High School -- starred in several of Hal Hartley's movies. She most recently appeared in "Factotum," with Marisa Tomei and Matt Dillon.

Police initially thought the actress had committed suicide.

But Shelly's family was adamant that she would not take her life and leave her daughter Sophie, 3, without a mother.

There also was the matter of the mysterious sneaker print on the toilet in the bathroom. And the shower rod showed no sign of stress from the weight of Shelly's body, sources said, which raised questions about whether it was a suicide.

An autopsy was inconclusive. As the city medical examiner was conducting further tests, detectives learned that renovation work was being done inside apartment No. 37, directly below Shelly's apartment. That apartment's former resident died recently of natural causes.

Detectives zeroed in on Pillco, one of several workers in the building. He confessed while being questioned Monday, sources said.

Sources said Pillco told police that Shelly complained to him about the noise of the renovation work. The confrontation became heated and then got physical, Pillco told detectives, as Shelly slapped him and he punched her, knocking her to the floor, a law enforcement source said.

Pillco dragged Shelly's body into her apartment, where he tried to create the fiction of her death by suicide, sources said.

Pillco, who at 5 feet tall was shorter than Shelly by 2 inches, apparently had trouble trying to situate her body to fit a suicide scenario, so he had to step on the toilet, leaving behind the sneaker print, sources said.

The cause of death still was not clear, the medical examiner's office said.

Pillco immigrated to the United States from Ecuador in July, police said. Several other men lived with him in a basement apartment on Prospect Avenue, neighbors said.

At Shelly's building Monday, resident Ilana Abrahams, 22, said news of the arrest frightened tenants who had assumed that if Shelly had been slain, it was not at the hands of a stranger.

"We thought it was someone she knew," Abrahams said. "[Building management] was leaving the door open all the time and just letting contractors walk in and out."

A close friend of Shelly's, who asked that his name not be used, said the arrest was a confirmation for those who could not believe Shelly had taken her life.

"I saw the rat right away," he said of the initial suspicion about suicide. "If Adrienne had some depressed thoughts or feelings, we all would have known right away."

Ostroy, in his statement, said, "We appreciate the outpouring of support we've received. Her fans and the film community knew Adrienne as an award-winning actor, screenwriter and director, but her most enduring legacy is our wonderful daughter. To those closest to her, she was the best mother and stepmother, wife, daughter, sister and friend anyone could ask for."

T.W. Farnam contributed to this story
http://www.amny.com/news/local/crime/am ... pheadlines

I heard this story last night and immediately thought he was illegal. It seems these illegal immigrants have short fuses and need anger management therapy in their own COUNTRY!!


He should be charged with first degree murder in my opinion, especially since he tried to cover his tracks! I would say 2nd if he called 911 and called the police! It's horrifying, she could of been alive before he hung her on that shower curtain rod!

The media needs to start using the word, "illegal". Foxnews said this morning he was illegal.

Her husband Andy Ostroy is a left wing blogger. Here is his website.

http://www.ostroyreport.blogspot.com/

No Human is Illegal!

Originally Posted by moosetracks

The media needs to start using the word, "illegal". Foxnews said this morning he was illegal.

Even the New York Sun-which is probably the only daily in this city that doesn't publish Marxist crap on a regular basis-didn't refer to this piece of sub-human detritus correctly, instead describing him as an "immigrant."



The story doesn't mention it, but she was also an independent filmmaker and screenwriter who was a protege of Hal Hartley.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR111795 ... id=25&cs=1

She was a wonderfully talented human being.

Originally Posted by CCUSA

I heard this story last night and immediately thought he was illegal. It seems these illegal immigrants have short fuses and need anger management therapy in their own COUNTRY!!


He should be charged with first degree murder in my opinion, especially since he tried to cover his tracks! I would say 2nd if he called 911 and called the police! It's horrifying, she could of been alive before he hung her on that shower curtain rod!

Like you, I knew it was an illegal too. First the police officer in Texas was murdered by an illegal, and now this poor helpless woman. What more will it take for this administration to stop this invasion on our country, and our citizens

If these crimes were comitted against these do nothing law makers and their families, maybe they'd do something to stop it.

History repaeting itself over and over again and the government buries their heads in the sand. I agree that newspapers print that the person is an illegal alien or foreign national or any other words meaining illegally in the country.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show ... 7241.shtml

Statement From Andrew Ostroy, Husband Of Adrienne Shelly
Posted on : Tue, 07 Nov 2006 00:04:00 GMT | Author : Andrew Ostroy
News Category : PressRelease

NEW YORK, Nov. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- "My wife's senseless death is devastating to me, our families and friends. We are incredibly grateful to the New York City Police Department for their dedication, professionalism and tenacity in following up on every lead in this case.

"We appreciate the outpouring of support we have received. Her fans and the film community knew Adrienne as an award-winning actor, screenwriter and director, but her most enduring legacy is our wonderful daughter. To those closest to her, she was the best mother and step-mother, wife, daughter, sister and friend anyone could ask for.


"My comfort is now our young daughter and my other children who have been incredibly supportive. We hope everyone will respect that this is a difficult and private time for our family."

Contact: Dan Katcher (917) 693-0665

Andrew Ostroy

CONTACT: Dan Katcher, +1-917-693-0665

As much as I hate to do this, I have to give credit where credit is due.

The Daily News got its facts straight.

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/ ... 4681c.html

The stunning whodunit was cracked yesterday after cops linked a bathtub sneaker print to a teen construction worker who allegedly snapped when Shelly made a noise complaint last week, sources said.

Diego Pillco, a 19-year-old illegal immigrant who had been renovating the apartment below Shelly's office, told cops in a chilling confession that he was afraid of getting arrested and deported, sources said.