Accused UES Killer Turned Self In After Googling Victim : Docs

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — An Oklahoma man accused of committing the first Upper East Side murder in two years told police that he has no memory of the night of the violent killing, according to court documents.

Alex Ray Scott turned himself into police at the Midtown North precinct on the morning of Jan. 30 and said "I think I killed someone," according to recently unsealed court documents from Scott's murder case. The accused killer then told detectives that he woke up in a Jersey City hotel room in possession of victim Kenneth Savinski's ID and credit cards.

When Scott googled Savinski's name, he learned that the man had been murdered, according to court documents.

"I have cuts on my hands so it has to be me because it’s the only thing that makes sense. I don’t remember anything, I’ve been drinking for a few days," Scott told police, according to court documents.

A grand jury charged Scott with first-degree murder, grand larceny and multiple counts of criminal possession of stolen property, according to an unsealed indictment.

Savinski's body was discovered on the night of Jan. 28 when a concerned friend went to check on him after calls and text messages went unanswered, police said. Upon discovering the body, the friend called police, an NYPD spokesman said. Savinski suffered deep lacerations to his throat and across his face, according to a criminal complaint. Numerous sharp objects in the man's apartment were shattered, with some pieces found inside the man's wounds, according to the complaint.

Security cameras outside the Savisnki's apartment building on East 83rd Street between Park and Lexington avenues captured video of 24-year-old Alex Ray Scott wearing a jacket belonging to victim Kenneth Savinski, suffering bloody wounds on his hands and counting money, according to a criminal complaint released by the DA's office. The footage was taken two hours after Scott accompanied Savinski — who was wearing the black jacket at the time — as they entered the building on the night on Jan. 28.

The gray jacket worn by Scott as they entered the building was left inside Savinski's apartment covered in blood, according to the criminal complaint.

Scott identified himself in the security footage during interviews with police on the day he turned himself in, according to court documents. The accused killer told detectives that he drove to New York City from Oklahoma to escape charges related to a sex crime.

Scott and Savisnki reportedly met using an online dating app, the Daily News reported. Scott came to New York City from Oklahoma, where he was arrested in 2018 for child molestation, according to the report. An Oklahoma judge issued a warrant for Scott in late January after he failed to appear for a number of court hearings related to the accusations.

The homicide was the first in more than two years on the Upper East Side, according to crime statistics collected by the NYPD's 19th Precinct. The 19th precinct did not record a murder in all of 2019. Crimes such as felony assault and misdemeanor assault have dropped in the neighborhood since 2019, according to the precinct's stats, but robberies have nearly tripled year to date.