Inside the Skyline murder: A tale of arrests, freedom and the heartbreaking death of an elderly woman – syracuse.com

Syracuse, NY Police made an arrest last week in the murder of a 93-year-old former teacher in her home at the Skyline Apartments, but the discussion quickly turned to this question:

Why was the suspected killer free?

A woman who police say admitted to the February murder of Connie Tuori had been arrested a week prior the death and charged with attacking another elderly woman in the same building. But a judge released her.

Seven days later, Tuori was murdered inside her 12th floor apartment at Skyline, a high-rise building overrun by crime and neglect, Syracuse police say.

Victoria Afet, 23, now faces up to life in prison without chance of parole if convicted of first-degree murder, police Chief Kenton Buckner announced Thursday.

Afet is accused of killing Tuori while trying to steal from her apartment. That led to an additional first-degree burglary charge.

Victoria Afet, 23, of Syracuse, is pictured in this undated selfie.Provided

Despite the arrest, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said Tuoris cause of death remains under investigation. He declined to say if anything was taken from her apartment, saying only that would come out at trial.

Afet was the last person seen with Tuori before her death, Fitzpatrick said. The two women, 70 years apart in age, were not acquaintances, he said.

But Afet, who is homeless, was seen on security camera following Tuori into the elderly womans apartment just before 3:30 p.m. on Feb. 26, police detective Matthew LaLonde wrote in court papers. Afet was seen leaving two hours later.

Thats the day authorities believe Tuori died.

But her body was not found for another 19 days. During that time, many people came and went from the apartment, as she lay dead inside, Fitzpatrick said, based on security video.

No one at Skyline reported Tuori missing. Her family asked police to check on her March 17 because they had become concerned. Thats when her body was discovered.

It just makes me kind of sad to think about, Fitzpatrick said of the fact no one in the building reported anything.

RELATED: Connie Tuori, 93, survived Afghanistan, Antarctica and African safari, only to be killed in her Syracuse apartment

Connie Tuori

Tuoris killing and an investigation by The Post-Standard have drawn attention to the desperate conditions inside the Skyline Apartments. Local governments have scrambled to take action against the owners, and non-profits are looking to move out their clients who fill the building plagued with crime and filth.

Related: Walsh says hes exploring legal action against Skyline owners: Its public nuisance No. 1

The DA implored those who had been in Tuoris apartment after her death to speak to authorities. Those individuals have already been identified on security video, he added.

Fitzpatrick promised that any witnesses who spoke truthfully would not be charged with entering the apartment, but he vowed to prosecute anyone who refused to talk to the full extent of the law.

A police detective wrote in court papers that Afet made admissions to the murder. But details of that alleged confession remain unknown. Fitzpatrick would only say Thursday that the implicating statements were not made to police.

In a court appearance, defense lawyer Susan Carey protested the suggestion that Afet made admissions, arguing that the criminal complaint outlining that allegation lacked specifics about any admission. A judge allowed the reference to a confession to remain in court paperwork.

Perhaps the biggest controversy surrounding Afets arrest involved what happened before the murder: the suspects release from jail without bail on a robbery charge at the same Skyline Apartments a week before Tuoris death.

Afets robbery charge from the earlier incident is one that cant typically result in jail under the states recent bail reform law. Thats because third-degree robbery defined as the forcible stealing of property is not considered a violent felony.

The reform law, however, does have a legal exemption that would have allowed the judge to set bail and hold Afet in jail. The law allows a judge to send a defendant to jail on a new offense during a pending case, if both the new and old cases involve identifiable harm to other people.

As she stood before a judge Feb. 19, Afet already had four ongoing felony cases, a short, failed stint on probation and a misdemeanor larceny conviction, public records show.

Shed been jailed seven separate times in the past three years and had gotten released or bailed out each time, according to records provided by Onondaga County Sheriffs Office spokesman Sgt. Jon Seeber.

In the robbery case, Afet had been accused of robbing a 74-year-old woman at Skyline, stealing $38 and biting her hand, police said in a felony complaint filed in Syracuse City Court. She also had prior ongoing allegations that included, in separate cases from 2020: slamming a womans head against a tree, flashing a serrated knife while threatening someones life and injuring someone with a knife outside a store.

Newly elected Syracuse City Court judge Felicia Pitts Davis in from of Onondaga County Courthouse. Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

City Court Judge Felicia Pitts Davis ordered Afet released from jail on pretrial release, akin to probation for those awaiting their day in court.

Its unclear what weighed into Pitts Daviss decision, including how much she knew about the previous pending charges. Judges are not allowed to talk about pending cases.

Still, the record shows that the judge considered and rejected an argument from prosecutors to keep Afet jailed on the bail-reform exemption that involves harm to people.

Afet was let go from jail Feb. 19. A week later, on Feb. 26, authorities say she followed Tuori into her apartment and killed her.

Buckner, the police chief, expressed concern Thursday that someone like Afet, facing multiple violent felonies, was still walking the streets at the time of Tuoris murder.

Thats what jails were built for, the chief said Thursday, while stressing that he wasnt blaming anyone.

Fitzpatrick pointed out that prosecutors had asked Afet to be held in jail on $50,000 bail on the robbery charge, a week before Tuoris death. The judge decided to release her with no bail.

Thats a big difference of opinion, Fitzpatrick said Thursday.

One of us was seriously wrong, the DA said. I think we now know who was wrong.

While questioning the wisdom of bail reform, the DA noted that the judge had the ability to send Afet to jail in the earlier robbery and had decided against it. The same judge would have made the same decision before bail reform, too, he suggested.

The circumstances of Afets release from jail before Tuoris murder were first revealed by Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard on Thursday morning, based on a timeline compiled from public records, sheriffs office jail records and interviews with lawyers involved in the case.

That history was later confirmed by the police chief and DA during the news conference announcing Afets arrest.

The day authorities say Afet killed Tuori she was charged again in an unrelated incident: driving a 2005 Honda Civic that had been reported stolen in DeWitt, said Trooper Jack Keller, a state police spokesman.

She was ticketed and released in that case without going before a judge, records show.

Two days later, on Feb 28, state police found Afet in another stolen car in the Baldwinsville area, Keller said. This time, she was driving a car that had been reported stolen in Syracuse. She was also carrying methamphetamine and hash oil, the trooper said.

That time, Afet was arraigned before a judge. Since Pitts Davis had placed Afet on pretrial release earlier in February, that was another factor that could be considered in sending her to jail.

This time, Clay Town Justice Jeffrey Schiano ordered Afet jailed with no bail, records show. Afet has been in custody ever since.

Including the murder, Afet now has a total of eight pending cases and one conviction, records show:

April 10, 2020: Accused of stealing a Chevrolet SUV from outside a North Side store. She was seen getting into vehicle with a bandaged, bloody hand injury, according to court records. When the vehicle was later recovered, blood inside was matched to Afet, police said. (Afet wasnt arrested until Oct. 22, 2020, after DNA blood analysis completed.)

June 16, 2020: Accused of stealing from the Butternut Street Rite Aid, then flashing a serrated knife at a civilian who tried to stop her; also accused of threatening to kill the civilian. Sent to jail with unknown bail, remained there for a month. That case is still pending in City Court after prosecutors consented to pursuing misdemeanors, not felonies.

July 16, 2020: Pleaded guilty to misdemeanor petit larceny from May, which also closed or reduced several other pending cases. Sentenced to three years on probation, freed from jail for the first time since June 16.

Aug. 16, 2020: Accused of injuring someone with a knife outside a North Side store. That case has been indicted as an assault and is pending in felony court. She faces up to 7 years in prison, if convicted. (Afet wasnt arrested in this case until Oct. 1, 2020.)

Aug. 22, 2020: Accused of slamming another womans head into a tree on Highland Street. That case is also pending in City Court after prosecutors consented to pursuing a misdemeanor.

Aug. 23, 2020: Sent to jail in head-slamming case, with bail set at $2,500 cash or $5,000 bond. Bail is increased as older cases linked to Afet: additional $20,000 bail in head-slamming incident from June; additional $1,000 bail in SUV theft case from April. Remains jailed for nearly next five months.

Sept. 4, 2020: Accused of violating probation from her sentence in the earlier petit larceny conviction. Specific allegations are unknown, though new arrests are considered probation violations.

Jan. 13: Officially taken off probation, resentenced to nine months in jail. Because shed already spent six months behind bars since her crime back in June 2020, shes released from jail Jan. 29. (Under jail rules, an inmate only serves 2/3 of a sentence, assuming theres no problems in custody.)

Feb. 18: Does not show up for felony court for 10:15 a.m. arraignment on indicted assault charge stemming from 2020 knife incident outside store. Around 4:30 p.m. the same day, accused of robbing and biting the 74-year-old woman at Skyline Apartments. Released from jail the following day, after arraignment, on pretrial release. A grand jury is now hearing the Skyline robbery case.

Feb. 26: The day authorities say Afet killed Tuori. Its the same day Afet is accused in DeWitt stolen car case. Ticketed by police and released.

Feb. 28: Accused of driving another stolen car in Baldwinsville. Also charged with drug possession. At arraignment, sent to jail with no bail, based on her prior pretrial release provisions.

March 17: Connie Tuori, 93, found dead by police in her 12th floor apartment at Skyline, 753 James St. Police were checking on her condition after she missed an appointment. Her death ruled a homicide.

March 23: Defense lawyer Susan Carey confirms to Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard that she is meeting with Afet in jail that afternoon regarding the Skyline Apartments homicide. Authorities decline comment.

March 25: Afet is officially charged with murder and burglary in Tuoris death. Security camera show Afet following Tuori into her apartment on Feb. 26, the day authorities believe the elderly woman was murdered, and leaving two hours later, police say. A criminal complaint alleges that she admitted to the crime, but details of that apparent confession remain unknown.

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Staff writer Douglass Dowty can be reached at ddowty@syracuse.com or 315-470-6070.

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Inside the Skyline murder: A tale of arrests, freedom and the heartbreaking death of an elderly woman - syracuse.com