Migrant accused of murdering New York landlady in rental dispute, allowed to enter US as unaccompanied minor: sources

A Colombian migrant accused of killing his landlady in Queens in a rent dispute was allowed into the U.S. as an unaccompanied minor — and the victim’s outraged sister says authorities kept it quiet until it was too late.

Davi Vidal, 20, crossed the border illegally in San Luis, Arizona, in June 2022, when he was 17, and was allowed to remain in the country as an unaccompanied minor — standard practice for unaccompanied migrant minors entering the country for “humanitarian reasons.”

Sources said Vidal, who told authorities he has an aunt in Wisconsin, faced an immigration hearing after being let go, with a date scheduled for early next year.

But on December 7, 2023, Vidal was still out when he allegedly got into a rental dispute with his landlord, Zoraida Leo, 55, and attacked her. leaving her to die in her building on 96th Street near Northern Boulevard in East Elmhurst, police said.

Only then did U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement place a detainer on the migrant.

“He is a migrant who crossed the border illegally,” Maria Leo, the victim’s sister and a naturalized citizen of the Dominican Republic, told The Post. “How come the federal government let this delinquent go just to kill an innocent woman – my sister. Vidal is a murderer.

“This person should receive the harshest punishment under the law,” she said. “After serving his time here, he should be deported immediately so he can never harm anyone here again.”

Maria Leo claimed that Vidal’s immigration status was never mentioned when Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the murder charges against him.

Worse, federal law enforcement sources eventually confirmed that the accused migrant killer had been captured and released at the border before allegedly committing murder in the Big Apple.

Maria Leon even gave The Post a copy of the defendant’s Colombian passport.

Meanwhile, the city’s Department of Corrections, which declined to comment, issued an “INS warrant” for Vidal.

New York City has a sanctuary law that restricts local authorities from honoring deportation orders from the U.S. Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, except under specific circumstances.

Vidal’s attorney did not return a call seeking comment.

The migrant is being held without bail on Rikers Island on murder charges.

The revelation of Vidal’s status comes amid other recent crimes allegedly committed illegally by migrants in the country – including one rape of a 5-year-old girl by a Honduran citizen on Long Island and a Chilean citizen who shot his girlfriend and her two sons, killing one of the boys in the town of Somers in Westchester County.

“He is one of the migrants who came here to do harm and killed my sister. I want justice for my sister! I have no idea what’s going on with the case. I am sad and angry,” said Maria Leo. “I want the border to be secure. So many people who come here are involved in criminal activities and killing people.”

Zoraida, who owned a two-story home in East Elmhurst, left behind four children and seven siblings.

Maria Leo said she did not know Vidal has an aunt in Wisconsin, but said he has two other aunts who live on Long Island — and that he was staying with one of them.

However, the aunt’s husband panicked when the migrant was caught smoking weed and was evicted, Maria Leo claimed. Then he rented the Queens apartment, with his aunt promising to pay the rent, she added.

But the aunt reneged on the agreement, leaving Vidal to live rent-free and spend his days lounging around smoking pot — until Zoraida Leo had enough and told him he was being kicked out, her grieving sister said.

Hiram Monserrate, a Democratic district leader in East Elmhurst and a former councilman and state senator, went to the victim’s wake to pay his respects after the family contacted him.

“They’re looking for answers,” Monserrate said. “This was a heinous crime that occurred in our community.”

Zoraida Leo was active in her local church, belonged to a local women’s rights group, and cared for her ailing 85-year-old mother, Adelaida Guzman.

“There are a lot of people in the community who knew her and loved her,” Monserrate said. “There is no question that we need better border security. Zoraida gave the man a helping hand and he killed her.’

A spokesperson for DA Katz told The Post: “The defendant was charged and remanded in custody. The case is progressing at a normal pace.”

The district attorney’s office declined to comment on what they knew about Vidal’s immigration status.

Officials at ICE did not respond to a request for comment from The Post.

Jon Feere, who served as a senior adviser to the ICE director under President Donald Trump, said it is not surprising that the victims’ families remain in the dark about the crimes committed by migrants.

Feere, who worked at the agency from 2017 to 2020, said he helped create a victim advocacy office within ICE, but it was dismantled after President Joe Biden took office.

“We saw the same scenario with other victims. It’s more evidence that reservations are a clear magnet for illegal immigration. It leads to a lot of lawlessness and we become victims of that,” says Feere, currently director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies.

Feere said the district attorney’s office may or may not have been aware of Vidal’s immigration status.

“It’s not on their radar if they’re not interested in uncovering this information,” he said.