QUEENS, NY – A 21-year-old East Elmhurst man has been sentenced to 22½ years in prison for killing his landlady during a rent dispute in 2023, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Friday.
The defendant, identified as Davi Vidal — also known as Deiby Vidal — pleaded guilty last month to first-degree manslaughter in the death of 55-year-old Zoraida Leo. Prosecutors said Vidal lived in the attic apartment of Leo’s multi-unit home for two years before the confrontation turned deadly.
According to the investigation, on the evening of December 4, 2023, Leo called Vidal downstairs to discuss unpaid rent. The argument escalated into a violent struggle, during which Vidal strangled Leo using his hands and the cord from an iron.
Son discovered victim after she failed to show up for work
When Leo failed to appear for work or answer calls the following day, her son went to her East Elmhurst residence, where he found her dead near the bathroom doorway. Responding officers found Vidal at the scene with visible scratch marks on his face. A medical examiner later confirmed strangulation as the cause of death.
Queens Supreme Court Justice Ushir Pandit-Durant sentenced Vidal to 22½ years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision.
- Davi Vidal sentenced for strangling landlady after rent dispute
- Victim, Zoraida Leo, found dead in her East Elmhurst home
- DA Katz says the sentence delivers justice for Leo’s family
“This defendant brutally attacked Zoraida Leo after a rent dispute and then callously left her to die on the floor of her own home,” said DA Katz. “We cannot undo this egregious harm, but with this sentence we have helped secure justice for Ms. Leo’s family.”
Queens DA says sentence brings justice for slain landlady