A woman accused of beating to death a man she had just smoked crack with on a Harlem street struck her victim in the head 30 times with a discarded table leg and then fabricated a rape charge, Manhattan prosecutors said Thursday.
After allegedly killing the victim about 4:20 a.m. Tuesday, Sabrina Charles, 39, pulled off the man’s pants in an attempt to rob him of his public benefits card and the $200 he had in his pockets, Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Chelsea Colabro said in Manhattan Criminal Court. The victim’s pants were found in Charles’ purse, officers said.
Charles remained at the crime scene and attempted to move her victim’s bloodstained body, Colabro said. She also attempted to change her appearance by removing her shirt, wearing only a black sports bra and letting her hair down, he said.
Charles and her victim, whom police have not yet identified, had just smoked crack together and Charles had performed oral sex on the victim on Hancock Place, near W. 124th St., before she attacked him, Colabro said.
The victim was still on the ground and lit his crack pipe when Charles came up behind him and hit him in the head with the table leg, the prosecutor said.
“The suspect hits the victim approximately 29 more times,” Colabro said.
Medics took the victim to Mount Sinai Morningside, but he could not be saved. He is believed to be in his 40s.
When a witness saw Charles standing over the victim’s body and asked what had happened, Charles claimed the man she killed had dragged her across the street and tried to rape her. Prosecutors say this claim is debunked by surveillance audio.
She encouraged the victim to follow her between two parked cars, where she performed consensual oral sex on him before killing him, prosecutors allege.
The video also shows Charles demanding that the victim give her more money for the crack they smoked. She later falsely claimed to authorities that he had not paid her at all, prosecutors said.
When police arrived, she tried to hide behind cars and garbage bags in an attempt to run away. She didn’t stop trying to get away until officers threatened to taunt her, prosecutors said.
“(She) made attempts to evade arrest and then made up a false story,” Colabro said.
Charles, who has an extensive criminal history with 14 arrests, was charged with murder and weapons possession for the killing Tuesday morning. Judge Denise Dominguez ordered Charles held without bail.
Charles’ attorney declined to speak to reporters after the hearing.
