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Danueal Drayton was arraigned on an 18-count indictment on Friday, April 1, in the 2018 death of 29-year-old Samantha Stewart, according to an announcement from Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
“This family deserves justice," Katz said in a statement. "This was a brutal crime that makes every person using a dating app fearful. The victim was duped into going out on a date with the defendant, who played a charmer online but was in fact an alleged sexual predator. The defendant is accused of brutally beating and then killing this innocent woman in her own home. After this heinous act of violence, the defendant fled the state to escape prosecution. Now back in our custody, this defendant will be held to account for his alleged actions.”
The DA's Office said Drayton, a former New Haven resident, was charged with:
- Second-degree murder
- Fourth-degree grand larceny
- Petit larceny
- Sexual misconduct
- Second- and third-degree identity theft
- Third-degree unlawful possession of personal identification information
- Fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property
Drayton reportedly met Stewart, a nurse from Queens, on the dating app Tinder and had a date with her on July 16, 2018, in Queens, Katz said.
Drayton is accused of beating and strangling Stewart and engaging in sexual conduct with Stewart's dead body, Katz said.
Stewart's brother found her body the following day, wrapped in a blanket and left on the floor in her bedroom, Katz reported.
Drayton is also accused of stealing Stewart's credit cards and buying a ticket to California using one of her stolen credit cards, Katz said.
He was apprehended in Los Angeles on July 24, 2018, by members of the NYPD’s Fugitive Task Force.
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