Defense Drops Bombshell Claim in Karina Vetrano Murder Case

What to Know

Karina Vetrano, 30, vanished while out for a run in her Queens neighborhood in August 2016[hhmc]
She was strangled and sexually assaulted when running alone in Spring Creek Park; Chanel Lewis, 22, is being retried after a mistrial [hhmc]
Defense attorneys are set to argue in court Monday that prosecutors withheld evidence from them, according to a published report[hhmc]

Attorneys for the man accused of killing 30-year-old Karina Vetrano, the Queens woman who vanished while out for a run in her neighborhood in August 2016, are set to argue in court Monday that prosecutors withheld evidence from them, according to a published report.

Closing arguments in Chanel Lewis' murder retrial are expected to get underway Monday. His initial case ended in mistrial with a hung jury in November.

The Daily News reported Friday that an anonymous letter was sent to members of the media, saying the Vetrano murder case has been racially-biased and that more than 300 black men had their DNA collected as part of the investigation.

Lewis, 22, faces murder charges in the death of Vetrano, who was killed back in 2016 while running in Howard Beach's Spring Creek Park. He was arrested nearly six months after Vetrano's body was found, the strongest evidence being DNA found under Vetrano's fingernails that prosecutors said implicated Lewis.