Teen squatters bought engagement ring, AirPods and a Playstation with credit card that belonged to mother whose body they stuffed in a duffel bag after beating her to death with a frying pan, cops say

Two teen squatters accused of murdering a mom and stuffing her body in a duffel bag at her apartment went on to use her credit card to buy an engagement ring, a court has heard. 

Halley Tejada, 19, and Kensly Alston, 18, shuffled into Manhattan Supreme Court on Thursday charged with killing Nadia Vitels, a 52-year-old woman who was found in a duffel bag in her New York City apartment on March 14. 

The pair pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, burglary, robbery, criminal possession, grand larceny and concealment of a human corpse and were remanded in custody. 

The medical examiner ruled Vitels' death a homicide after an autopsy ruled she died from multiple facial fractures, a brain bleed, two broken ribs and blunt-force trauma to the head.

Prosecutors allege that Tejada and Alston broke into Vitels’ apartment on March 10 and stayed there for two days before she returned home with her dog and told them to leave.

Tejada is accused of stomping on her head before hitting her with a frying pan while Alston kicked her body and the pair then wrapped her neck and body with a cord.

Halley Tejada appears in court in a 'Yeah... no.' t-shirt as he's charged with murder ,

Kensly Alston, 18, was wearing a Scooby-Doo shirt as she entered the courtroom 

Medvedev said his mother loved her dog and she had adopted the pup while going through a hard time in her life, caring for her sick parents

Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Clerkin told the court: ‘She sustained fractures to her ribs, bruising to arms and legs.

‘But the most significant was to her skull where she had multiple fractures including a hinge fracture.’

Vitels was hit with such force, her wounds were similar to those typically seen in people hit by a train or those who fall from a great height.

After the attack, the suspects allegedly fled to Pennsylvania in the victim’s Lexus and Alston told authorities how good their life was with the couple celebrating her 18th birthday and using Vitels’ credit card to buy items including an engagement ring, AirPods and a PlayStation 5.

It remains unclear how the pair gained access to Vitels' apartment, or if they'd ever met before she was murdered. 

The teens donned laid-back looks for their court appearance.

Alston sported a Scooby Doo shirt, black sweatpants and sandals, while Tejada opted for a top with the words, 'Yeah. No.' emblazoned on the front.

Tejada and Alston were tracked down by US Marshals and taken into custody on March 22.

'We believe that some squatters took the apartment over and this woman came home … and walked in on the squatters that were there,' NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said at the time.

The two suspects were spotted driving off in Vitels Lexus SUV around the time they believe she died and even caught on surveillance footage that has not yet been released to the public.

Kenny added that the unique design of the 'upscale apartment' meant they may have been able to hide from Vitels for some time.

Michael Medvedev, Vitels' son, made the grisly discovery of his mother's corpse upon return alongside the building's superintendent Jean Pompee, who has lived in there for 22 years, after Vitels had not been seen for 48 hours.

'As they're getting ready to leave, the son opens up the closet door near the front door and discovers the duffel bag with a foot sticking out,' Kenny said. 

Prosecutors allege Alston confessed to the brutal beating of Vitels. ‘She explained how Ms Vitels told the defendants to leave and how defendant Tejada yelled he was going to kill her,’ Clerkin said.

‘She described how Ms Vitels went to the bedroom and how they followed her. How they each grabbed her body and threw it to the ground.

'She described how Tejada stomped on Ms Vitels' head while she kicked her body.’

The medical examiner ruled her death a homicide on Friday after an autopsy revealed she died from blunt-force trauma to the head

Sources said police are looking for two suspects described as a black male and a black female both in their 20s, who were spotted driving off in Vitels' Lexus SUV 

Alston also allegedly told her fiancé to put shoes on while he battered the victim as she was concerned he was going to hurt himself.

‘Alston said Ms Vitels was still breathing at this time. Defendant Tejada said to grab a cord which he wrapped around her neck and body,’ prosecutor Clerkin added.

‘Defendant Alston explained she held open the bag while defendant Tejada put her body in and that she was still breathing which they hid in the closet.’

Alston allegedly told authorities how in love they were and how they were living a good life in Pennsylvania and recently celebrated her 18th birthday and got engaged.

The pair were stopped by cops in Pennsylvania a day after Vitels was murdered when they crashed the Lexus into another vehicle, according to prosecutors.

Alston is said to have given a false name to police before sharing her true identity and the couple were let go because the victim’s body was not yet found and authorities did not know the vehicle was stolen.

‘Defendant Tejada denied ever entering Vitels’ apartment building but admitted he'd been to a smoke shop in the area.

‘He said his foot was swollen because he worked at Lowe’s and dropped a box on it.’ But the retail company denied he was an employee.

The pair were eventually tracked down and arrested on March 22 before being brought back to New York.

Acting Supreme Court Justice Stephen Antignani said Vitels was ‘murdered in a vicious, horrible way’.

Nadia Vitels, 52, was found inside the bag in the East 31st Street apartment in Manhattan's Kips Bay on March 14 after her family called the building superintendent to do a wellness check 

Vitels' son Michael Medvedev made the grisly discovery of his mother's corpse upon return alongside the building's superintendent Jean Pompee, who has lived in there for 22 years, after Vitels had not been seen for 48 hours.

The defendants are believed to have driven across the George Washington Bridge into New Jersey before crashing Vitels' SUV in Pennsylvania's Lower Paxton Township.

NYPD officials did not receive the plate numbers on the car until the next day but they know that the squatters immediately tried to spend $1,000 on a replacement vehicle.

Medvedev remembered his mother as a smart, beautiful and adventurous woman during her funeral at Gutterman's Funeral Home in Woodbury on Monday.

'I remember she showed me a gold medal she had earned in high school back in Russia, a student medal of honor for being top in her class. That medal, for some reason, has always stuck with me. It made me feel proud to be her son and I wanted to earn my gold medals to live up to her,' said Medvedev.

He said his mother had moved to the United States from Russia to attend college in Oklahoma and play tennis, then moved to Miami for graduate school.

According to her LinkedIn profile, Vitels was a marketing professional who worked at Canon, Nokia and tennis star Maria Sharapova's candy line, Sugarpova.

Medvedev said his mother loved her dog and she had adopted the pup while going through a hard time in her life, caring for her sick parents.

'He became her next obsession, her best friend, her man. He was the only man she needed,' the son said at her funeral.

'This little puppy gave her the love she needed to get through the hardest time in her life.'

The building’s super Jean Pompee discovered her dog urinated all over the floor because it had been unaccompanied which was very unusual.

'They found a bag in the closet and said, 'I believe there is a body in here.' I kind of sensed something was wrong, it kind of looked suspicious,' Pompee said.

He added that he saw signs of struggle in the apartment as the breaker panel, which he believes is electric, was left damaged.

Vitels' concerned family members then called the Fire Department who arrived on the scene quickly.

'The fire department opened the bag and discovered her body,' Pompee added. 'I didn't peek and see the body myself, they just said there was a body in there and called the police. It was in the closet by the entrance to the door.

'It was in a little type of bag you zipped up, a soft case type. I felt bad, you never want to hear anyone is killed or murdered.'

The superintendent confirmed there was another name on the lease of the apartment Vitels was in and said had only met that person once and forgot what they looked like.

'Apparently she [Vitels] was subletting. I didn't know she was going to be moving in,' he added.

Vitels had reportedly moved into the apartment just days before her death and Medvedev said his mother was looking forward to starting this next chapter in her life.

'Getting ready to move to New York City where she would conquer the world. She was so excited to move into the city,' he said.