Teen Tenant Faces Murder Charge In Queens Landlady's Death: DA

QUEENS, NY — A teenage tenant faces a murder charge in the death of his Queens landlady, who was found strangled and with scratches on her face, prosecutors said.

Davi Vidal, 19, killed Leo Zoraida, 55, during an argument about rent, according to an indictment leveled Wednesday.

"We will seek justice for the brutally murdered victim and her loved ones," said Melinda Katz, district attorney for Queens, in a statement.

Prosecutors said Zoraida had told a witness Dec. 4 that she wanted to speak to Vidal about rent he owed for an attic unit in the 96th Street building near Northern Boulevard that she owned and lived in.

Zoraida told Vidal to come to her apartment, and afterward she didn't show up to work and couldn't be reached by her family, authorities said.

Her son found her body near a bathroom entrance when he went to check on her Dec. 5, prosecutors said.

Vidal was in the home when police arrived, authorities said.

"He was crying and had scratch marks on his face," a release from prosecutors states.

A medical examiner found that Zoraida died of strangulation, prosecutors said.

Vidal faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted on his second-degree murder charge.