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Suspect nabbed in Glendale transgender slay: DA

Suspect nabbed in Glendale transgender slay: DA
By Nathan Duke

A 29-year-old Manhattan man has been charged in the March strangling of a transgender woman from Glendale after police caught up with him in Las Vegas, the Queens district attorney said.

Rasheen Everett, of 65 Jefferson St. in Manhattan, was arraigned last week in Queens Criminal Court on charges of second-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence, Queens DA Richard Brown said. If convicted, he could face up to 25 years to life in prison.

“The defendant is accused of violently taking the life of another human being in her own apartment and then tampering with the body by dousing it with bleach,” the DA said. “This case will be vigorously prosecuted in order to secure a measure of justice for the victim and her family.”

On March 27, Everett is alleged to have entered an apartment owned by Amanda Gonzalez Andujar, 29, a transgender woman, on 62nd Street in Glendale just before 9 a.m., Brown said. The two of them were apparently alone in the apartment.

Several minutes later, loud screams and banging noises consistent with a struggle were heard coming from the apartment, the DA said. Everett allegedly left Andujar’s apartment 17 hours later, carrying two bags that appeared to be filled with items.

The victim’s actual name is Edelbuerto, but she went by the name “Amanda.” Friends said she had not been working at the time of her death because of back problems.

A police officer entered the apartment March 30 around 4 p.m. and saw the victim’s body lying on a bed, Brown said. Bleach had been poured over her body and she was pronounced dead at the scene. The city medical examiner determined that the cause of death was manual neck compression.

On April 9, police in Las Vegas arrested Everett, bringing him to New York last Thursday, the DA said.

Gonzalez Andujar was the first person murdered in the 104th Precinct in 2010. A total of two people were slain in the precinct last year.

Reach reporter Nathan Duke by e-mail at nduke@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.