By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — A Manhattan judge will decide whether a lengthy confession made by a man who admitted strangling a 19-year-old Pace student in 2008 can be admitted as evidence at trial.
Jeromie Cancel, 24, faces up to life in prison on charges he killed Kevin Pravia in August 2008. Cancel admitted to strangling Pravia with an electrical cord, stuffing his mouth with crumpled plastic and beating him. He also said he watched the movie "Saw" after the murder.
Then he swiped all the valuables he could find and left the apartment, Cancel told prosecutors in a recorded interview that lasted more than an hour.
Cancel's lawyer, Michael Alperstein, argued that his client was never read his rights while in custody in Queens on a separate robbery charge. During questioning about the robbery, Cancel admitted to police he killed Pravia, but they thought he was lying.
Prosecutors and Cancel's lawyers met with the judge after a public hearing where the video was shown concluded Thursday. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Daniel FitzGerald, did not indicate when he will reach his decision.
Jury selection in Cancel's trial could begin within days of the judge rendering a decision on the confession evidence.
