Here’s Where Daphne Abdela Is Now After the Brutal Central Park Murder
If you’ve watched Homicide New York, you might be wondering where Daphne Abdela is now after she was convicted of the Central Park murder alongside her then-boyfriend Christopher Vasquez. Abdela was 15 years old at the time of this brutal crime.
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Homicide New York is a true crime docu-series produced by none other than Dick Wolf (of Law & Order fame) and documents several cases that happened in New York City. Each episode is told by the people who know them best: the detectives and prosecutors who cracked them.
“You can read what happened [in these cases] on Wikipedia, but you don’t get the human side of the story,” executive producer Jane Lipsitz told Netflix. “You don’t have the context of the victim’s families and friends. That obviously is a huge part of it, and really creates some emotional connection for the audience.”
Where is Daphne Abdela now?
Daphne Abdela, dubbed the “Baby-Faced Butcher,” is keeping a low-key profile in recent years. In April 2024, The Sun captured photos of her “on a Starbucks stroll,” now 41 years old. It’s the first time she’s been seen in public since being released from jail and the tabloid revealed she was living on City Island in New York’s The Bronx, 13 miles from where Michael McMorrow’s mutilated body was found.
“While the neighbors didn’t wish to be interviewed, they said they were aware of Abdela’s criminal past and said she didn’t get out much,” the tabloid reported. “One neighbor on the other side of the block said he’s never remembered her ever walking in front of his home.”
Abdela was photographed using a cane, which could be a result of a car accident that allegedly left her disabled, a lawsuit filed in 2009 claims. Per the New York Post, the incident that occured in Harlem “rendered sick, sore, lame and disabled, experiencing mental anguish, great pain and suffering and has remained so since said occurrence.”
If you need a refresher on her story, Abdela was arrested on May 23, 1997, after the murder of real estate agent, McMorrow. Abdela anonymously called the NYPD about a body found in a Central Park lake. Vasquez and Abdela were reportedly drinking with McMorrow and detective Rob Mooney told the show that McMorrow was “in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
It’s believed McMorrow had put his arm around Abdela, which prompted Vasquez to become jealous and he pulled out a knife. She told investigators that she encouraged Vasquez to “gut” McMorrow’s body in the hope that the remains would not float, per court records. She reportedly returned to the scene of Michael McMorrow’s murder and left a note that read, “Rest easy. I tried to save you. I’m sorry I failed you. I’m sorry for the pain I caused you and your family.”
Abdela and Vasquez were found guilty of first-degree manslaughter. Abdela pleaded guilty in March 1998 and was sentenced to between 39 months and 10 years in prison. She was released six years into her sentencing. Vasquez was released around this time, too.
She was arrested again year after her release. On October 13, 2004, she was charged with misdemeanor of aggravated harassment. According to the New York Post, she made a phone call threat to her former jailmate, “If you leave your house, I’m going to kill you.” The NYPD ordered Abdela to be in her Upper West Side home from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m. after the jailmate reported her.
Homicide New York is now available to stream on Netflix.
