Former prisoner accused of killing beloved New York grandmother identified by stolen bag: prosecutors

Prosecutors said Thursday that the former inmate, who once served 27 years for murder, was identified in the murder case of his beloved Manhattan great-grandmother through a green rolling bag he took from his victim’s apartment.

Details of how cops were focusing on murder suspect Terrence Moore emerged during his indictment in Manhattan Criminal Court late Wednesday night, where a judge ordered him to be held without bail.

Moore, 53, and his partner LaShawn McKee, 47, tied victim Maria Hernandez’s hands and feet behind her back with yellow, orange, and black rope after they entered the 74-year-old’s apartment on W. 83rd Street near from Columbus. pr. January 18, according to the prosecutor’s office.

They beat and strangled her, and there were indications that Hernandez may have been sexually assaulted, according to the autopsy results.

Later that night, the two men were filmed leaving the Hernandez building with two wheeled bags that were later identified as belonging to their victim, prosecutors said. They were also seen in the basement, where a DVR is recording footage from the building’s security cameras from the foreman’s office.

Hernandez had just returned home from a Broadway matinee and early dinner with her younger sister Maria Tirredo when her killers caught her by surprise and ransacked her home for valuables.

McKee worked part-time as a doorman at the building from May to August. Before leaving, McKee changed the locks on Hernandez’s apartment and kept a copy of the key that was found on his key ring when he was arrested, prosecutors said.

The second-floor resident, who knew McKee by the nickname “Frosty”, had spoken to him prior to the break-in, prosecutors said.

“During this conversation, “Morozko” stated that he was angry with the head of the house for reporting him to the police about the theft, and that he did something in retaliation,” the criminal court said in a statement. “When a resident pointed out that there were cameras throughout the building, Frosty responded that he took care of it.”

The two suspects loaded Hernandez’s belongings into a blue Jansport trolley backpack and a green trolley bag, prosecutors said, and they were later recorded sharing the cash.

The couple also borrowed a circular saw from the building superintendent’s office, which was found in one of the wheeled bags.

Hernandez’s sister found her brother dead in the back bedroom, hands and feet bound with rope and gagged, police said.

According to court documents, the victim was lying face down and “covered in scattered clothing.”

The beloved Dominican immigrant had three daughters, eight grandchildren and a one-year-old great-grandson, according to relatives.

Police officers conducting an extensive CCTV search managed to track Moore and McKee with their wheeled bags from the Upper West to McKee’s apartment in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

When Moore left McKee’s building with one of the wheeled bags, they used CCTV to track him four more blocks to the nearest hideout, where he was identified by officers, police said.

Police arrested Moore on Tuesday and charged him with murder and burglary. According to court records, he was convicted of murder, attempted robbery and possession of a weapon in 1990, but was released on parole in 2017. Later that year, he was arrested on four counts of violent touching, police said.

McKee was held without bail after he was charged on Sunday. Prosecutors said the killing was premeditated, citing breaking into the superintendent’s basement office prior to the killing.