A New York City woman has admitted to fatally striking her aunt over the head with a hammer during an argument at their Manhattan apartment.
Kristie Miro, 34, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Sept. 25 in connection with the death of her aunt, Ana Nieves, 56, in February 2022, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement.
Under the plea agreement, Miro is expected to be sentenced on November 12 to 16 years-to-life in state prison, Bragg added.
“Kristie Miro committed a brutal and deadly act of family violence that took her aunt’s life,” Bragg said. “Losing any loved one to violence is incredibly painful, and unimaginable at the hands of another family member. I hope this measure of accountability can bring some comfort to Ms. Nieves’ loved ones, who continue to endure the effects of this senseless tragedy.”
The incident occurred while Miro was living with her aunt in East Harlem.
Around 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 9, 2022, Miro’s cousin arrived at the apartment and found Miro “visibly upset and holding a hammer,” Bragg said. She explained that her girlfriend had broken up with her and that her aunt wanted her to move out.
Later that evening, Miro’s cousin and Nieves went to a party together, leaving separately in the early hours of the next morning. Throughout the day, Miro’s cousin tried to reach Nieves but received no response.
When the cousin’s friends checked on Nieves at her apartment, Miro told them her aunt wasn’t home. Meanwhile, a building resident requested a wellness check, prompting police to visit the apartment at 4 p.m. Miro again insisted her aunt was out.
When officers eventually gained entry, they discovered Nieves dead in her bathtub, dressed in the blood-stained clothing she had worn to the party.
Nieves’ violent death left her family reeling.
“I’m completely numb and I’m hurting. I went to church today and cried it out because I just can’t get in my mind why her. She would give you her last,” Nieves’ sister, Lucy Nieves, then 52, told the New York Daily News.
“What’s the worst thing about it?” she added. “It’s family. How do you swallow that pill?”
