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Shortly after 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012, members of the Yonkers Police Department responded to a wooded area between Rossmore Avenue and Midland Avenue next to the Sprain Brook Parkway, where there was a report of a suspicious package.
Upon arrival, responding officers found a decomposing human body wrapped in a garbage bag.
The initial investigation determined that the woman, later identified as 26-year-old Bronx resident Pamela Graddick, was killed by a gunshot wound to the head outside of Yonkers before her body was dumped there.
Police said that “due to the nature of the incident and absence of local leads, the investigation was transferred to the Cold Case Unit in 2014 for enhancement.”
A person of interest was identified early in the investigation, police said, however, it took “years of additional casework to develop probable cause, culminating in a confession by the main suspect.”
On Sunday, Jan. 23, nine years and four months after Graddick’s body was discovered, detectives in Yonkers charged her former partner with murder.
According to police, Bronx resident Wanda Veguilla, age 40, was charged with second-degree murder for allegedly shooting and killing Graddick in their Bronx apartment due to ongoing domestic issues between the two.
It is further alleged that Yonkers resident John Torres, age 30, assisted Veguilla, who allegedly supplied the murder weapon and helped transport the body.
Torres was charged on Tuesday, Jan. 25 with:
- Criminal facilitation;
- Hindering prosecution;
- Tampering with evidence.
Both Veguilla and Torres were arraigned in Yonkers Criminal Court and remanded to the Westchester County jail pending their next court appearance.
“The passage of time only reinforces our commitment to solving these heinous crimes. The Yonkers Police (Department) prides itself on focusing on victims and their families and doing whatever we can to deliver justice for them,” Police Commissioner John Mueller said in a statement announcing the arrests.
“I hope that these arrests bring some degree of closure to Pamela’s family and friends, and I applaud the extraordinary efforts of our Cold Case Detectives in closing out this case after so many years – well done.”
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