A suspect has been charged in the murder of a 93-year-old woman in a notorious Syracuse apartment building. Police and the district attorney’s office say the suspect had a lengthy history of arrests and questioned if she should have been in jail sooner.
Victoria Afet, 23, was charged with the murder and burglary of Connie Tuori. Tuori lived in the Skyline Apartments, which the mayor has singled-out as having inhumane living conditions, and has attracted drugs and violence in recent years. Tuori’s nephew, Guy Tuori said Connie grew up on the north side and loved the area.
“She was fearless, she was independent,” he said.
Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick gave an outline of Afet’s criminal history over the past year to Tuori’s family.
“Arrests in March, April, May, June, July, August, August, August,” Fitzpatrick said to reporters on Thursday.
Afet was arrested in February for strong-armed robbery of a 74-year-old woman at Skyline. She was released with no bail, despite objections from the district attorney’s office. She’s accused of murdering Connie Tuori a week later.
“We have a serious problem in our criminal justice system… and should be obvious to any sentient human being,” Fitzpatrick said.
Fitzpatrick did not criticize the judge in the strong-armed robbery case. But his and Syracuse Police Chief Kent Buckner’s frustration was evident.
“Those are the kinds of things that you would hope would raise their head on the radar for someone to give this a level of scrutiny, to get the kinds of outcomes that I think our community expects and deserves,” Buckner said. “Individuals who are committing violent acts in our city, that’s who the jails were built for.”
The cause of Tuori’s death is still under investigation. Afet is charged with first-degree murder, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison without parole. She was already in jail on unrelated charges.
