NEW YORK – A young drifter who strangled a college student and then watched the grisly horror film "Saw" committed the murder as an afterthought, the New York Post reported.
Jeromie Cancel, 22, whom police and family describe as homeless and mentally unstable, allegedly confessed to the heinous crime, was about to leave Kevin Pravia's apartment after stealing electronic equipment, authorities told the Post.
But for reasons not made clear, Cancel, who told reporters that he killed 19-year-old Kevin Pravia "'cause I wanted to," strangled the 19-year-old Pace University student and then stayed in his Chelsea apartment to watch the horror movie.
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"He picked up a cord and tied the cord around the deceased's neck," according to a criminal complaint against Cancel, who was held without bail yesterday in Manhattan Supreme Court on a charge of first-degree murder, the Post reported.
"The defendant punched the deceased ... grabbed a plastic bag, placed the bag in the deceased's mouth, and put his hand on the deceased's nose to stop the deceased from breathing," the complaint said.
"Eventually, the deceased stopped moving."
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