NEW YORK – Police have arrested one of the suspects wanted in connection with a gruesome 2022 double murder that left two 22-year-olds dead, their bodies found in a burning vehicle in the Bronx, according to the investigators. .

In a case that has haunted two families for nearly a year, the remains of victims Nikki Huang and Jesse Parilla were discovered after firefighters extinguished the flames of the May 16 car fire on Shore Road in Pelham Bay Park , near Pelham Split Rock Golf Course. . Huang and Parilla, who lived in Manhattan, had been shot in the head and other body parts before being set on fire, police said.

Parilla was driving Huang away in his mother’s Honda Accord as the two tried to retrieve his stolen bag, investigators said. Autopsies revealed extensive burns on their bodies in addition to gunshot wounds.

On Tuesday, police arrested Jahmel Sanders after months of manhunt. Sanders now faces 17 charges as police linked him to the kidnapping, robbery and murder of Huan and Parilla. Sanders, 30, did not answer reporters’ questions as police led him out of the police station in handcuffs.

Three people have been arrested in the case and police are still looking for Steven Santiago, 34 (below).


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Police said there were no signs of an accident before the sedan caught fire. The relationship between the victims was unclear, nor was their potential connection to the suspects.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the police. A $10,000 reward is now being offered for information leading to Santiago’s arrest.

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