HOWARD BEACH — The accused killer of Karina Vetrano, who was brutally killed as she ran through a marshy park behind her home in August, told investigators he didn't mean to hurt her — he just "beat her to let my emotions out."
Chanel Lewis, who has been on Rikers Island since he was arrested in February, was in court Tuesday for his arraignment on a 13-count indictment for the Aug. 2, 2016 murder.
District Attorney Michael Curtis read statements by Lewis inside the court room, which was filled with Vetrano's family and friends.
Lewis told officers he went to the park that day for "peace and quiet" after a man came to his house playing loud music, according to the Queens District Attorney's Office.
That's where he met Vetrano, whose family said would also escape to the marshy national park for its tranquility.
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"She was running towards me and I just lost it," he told investigators at the 107th Precinct as they interrogated him the morning of Feb. 5, hours after he was arrested.
"She didn't do anything. I was just mad at that time. I beat her to let my emotions out. I never really meant to hurt her, it just happened."
According to the DA's office, Lewis told detectives he grabbed Vetrano by the shoulders, knocking her over and punching her in the face so hard her teeth broke.
He cut his hand on one of her teeth, and Vetrano also scratched him in the face as she fought him. The struggle later helped police identify Lewis since his DNA was underneath her fingernails, officials said.
"I got madder and madder, and I strangled her," he told police.
She then fell face up into a puddle, and he dragged her by the wrists behind the trail, according to the DA.
Lewis told police he was sorry for what he did, and hoped to apologize to the family, according to the DA's account.
"Can I speak to someone from the victim's family? I'm sorry for what I did," he said as police interviewed him.
"When I saw her I just lost it. I want to change my life."
Vetrano's family and friends cried as Curtis read Lewis' statements detailing her brutal killing.
They declined to comment outside court.
Lewis' mother, Veta, told reporters outside court that her son is innocent, and was framed by prosecutors.
"They are framing him," she said. "I know that there is a God, and I know that justice is coming for my child."
