62-year-old woman returned home and got into altercation with unknown man who had broken into through a window when he strangled and sexuaIIy assaulted the woman before her body was found with a shoelace on the neck covered with a blanket in the bed of a pickup truck

Prosecutors said the 20-year-old man, who was still a teenager when the crime occurred and has been initially facing several charges, including one count each of receiving and concealing a stolen motor vehicle, felony murder, and concealing the death of an individual, was recently additionally charged with first-degree premeditated murder, home invasion in the first degree, and second-degree criminal sexuaI conduct stemming from the death of the 62-year-old woman.

The man, identified as Stephen, wasn’t able to afford the $75,000 bail that the judge granted following his arrest since he was homeless and not working at the time, but when the felony murder charge was added, the bond was revoked.

Stephen was driving a blue pickup when he got into a minor traffic crash but immediately fled the scene on foot, leaving the vehicle behind, probably due to the heinous crime he previously committed and given the fact the pickup he was driving belonged to the 62-year-old woman, later identified as Gabrielle, whose body was lying in the bed of the pickup truck.

Upon arriving at the scene regarding the crash, authorities noticed something covered in the bed of the pickup. Once they pulled back the blanket, they saw the lifeless body of Gabrielle with a shoelace around her neck, indicating the cause of death as strangulation since there were no apparent injuries on the body. Through a cellphone video that witnesses had taken at the scene, officers were able to quickly identify the pickup’s driver, and they soon arrested the suspect.

The investigation showed that Stephen broke into Gabrielle’s home through a window while she was gone. In the meantime, while Stephen was still inside the home, she returned and got into an altercation with him before being strangled to death. Stephen then put the victim’s body in her pickup and drove off. Prosecutors said Gabrielle’s murder was premeditated but did not share information about the sexuaI assault charge. If found guilty on all charges, Stephen faces the possibility of life in prison.