Facebook Ayame Stamoulis has been charged in the murder of Bronx resident Richard Hamlet.
Ayame Stamoulis is an 18-year-old woman who was arrested in the murder of a Bronx, New York, man after his body was found on the roof of a McDonald’s restaurant in the city. According to The Associated Press, Stamoulis, of Brooklyn, was arrested on July 17 and charged with murder, tampering with evidence and concealing a corpse.
ABC 7 New York reported that Stamoulis and two other people entered the apartment of Richard Hamlet with the intention of committing a burglary last week. Police say the three suspects didn’t expect to run into Hamlet during the heist. When they did, they beat him, choked him and “forced him to drink a caustic liquid,” police sources told ABC. NYPD Detective Jeff Grater confirmed to The AP that the three suspects did beat and choke Hamlet but didn’t mention drinking any liquid.
Here’s what you need to know:
The 2 Other Suspects Are at Large
Police accuse the three suspects of wrapping Hamlet’s body in a plastic bag and then throwing it onto the roof of an adjacent McDonald’s on East 149 street in the Bronx, ABC reported. Hamlet’s body was found on July 15 and 911 was called around 6 a.m, Bronx.com reported. The New York Post reported that the 911 caller said there was only half of a body on the McDonald’s roof but police have not confirmed this.
According to inmate records, Stamoulis is currently at the Rose M. Singer Center, part of the Rikers Island prison complex, and is expected to appear in court on the felony charges on August 17. She was remanded without bail. She has also been charged with manslaughter, burglary and gang assault, the New York Daily News reported. The two other suspects are still at large.
Her lawyer has not commented yet.
Stamoulis Is a New York City Native Who Attended Unity Center for Urban Technologies
Stamoulis is a New York City native, according to her Facebook profile. She attended Unity Center for Urban Technologies until 2019, she said on Facebook. It is not clear if she graduated from the Manhattan public high school.
According to her LinkedIn profile, she also studied at Theresa Paplin School. She wrote on Linkedin in April 2020, “I’m looking for a job I am 18 years of age I’m great at making music and caring for children I am a traveler so delivery options are a go.”
She said in January 2020 that she was in a relationship. Police have not publicly identified the two other suspects and it is not clear if they know who they are searching for. Police have also not said how Stamoulis was identified as a suspect in the murder.
Burglaries in New York City Have Spiked During COVID-19 Pandemic
In May, NYPD released data showing that burglaries increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. According to their statistics, there were 1,154 burglaries in May 2020 compared with 861 during May 2019, an increase of 34%. From January through May 2020, burglaries had increased 31% over the prior year to 5,405 from 4,126.
“The uptick in violence, I haven’t seen anything this bad in a long time,” a law enforcement official told CNN. “This is the worst I’ve seen it in six or seven years.”
For the first five months of 2020, there was also a rise in murders. The stats show that murders increased 18.8%, from 117 last year to 139 this year. There were also 100 shootings by May compared to 61 during the same time period in 2019.
According to the statistics for June 2020, burglaries were continuing to increase, rising up 118.2% to 1,783 compared to 817 in June 2019. Burglaries are up 46.3% for the year to 7,234 from 4,943 from last year.
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said the NYPD would address the uptick in crime back in April.
“We stand strong, on the front lines, to ensure a common good for all and to continue to relentlessly drive down crime, deliver justice for every crime victim and maintain a sense of safety we believe all New Yorkers deserve,” he said according to the New York Post.
READ NEXT: Las Vegas Mom Drove 121 MPH In Crash That Killed 1-Year-Old Son: Cops