http://nydailynews.com/today/News_and_Views/Crime_File/a-111249.asp # # Taking a Swipe at Alibi # MetroCard records KO motorman's defense in slaying # # By PETE DONOHUE Daily News Staff Writer # # [A_dc.gif] subway motorman's alibi in the March 8 slaying of # his estranged girlfriend has been foiled through a detailed # analysis of his MetroCard records, the Daily News has learned. # # While MetroCard records have been used to solve other crimes, # the prosecution of Christopher Stewart is believed to be the # first homicide case where the MetroCard will serve as a key piece # of evidence. # # When Angelique Williams, 29, was stabbed to death two months # ago while walking to her car on Staten Island, Stewart, 35, # immediately became the suspect. # # But the 11-year Transit Authority veteran had an alibi: At the # time of the killing, he was about to board a ferry for Manhattan, # where -- he said -- he got on a subway and then a bus bound for # Atlantic City. # # After reviewing MetroCard records, not only did detectives blow # a hole through Stewart's alibi -- they had additional evidence # linking him to the slaying. # # "His employee MetroCard definitely helps tie him to the scene # of the crime, or being near the scene, at the time of the crime," # said Staten Island prosecutor Heidi Tannenbaum-Newman. # # Stewart claimed to have taken the S46 bus, but MetroCard records # show that he actually took the S54 bus, thus foiling his alibi. # # On the morning of the killing, Stewart appeared before a Staten # Island judge, who extended an order of protection issued in late # February after Stewart was charged with assaulting Williams. # # At 5:30 p.m. that day, Williams -- the mother of Stewart's # 3-year-old daughter -- was stabbed to death outside the Todt # Hill Houses in the Castleton Corners section. # # According to court records, Stewart told Staten Island detectives # that he didn't know who killed Williams. # # He said he'd boarded an S46 bus near his house in the Livingston # section about 45 minutes before the slaying, and that he had # headed to the ferry terminal, arriving there between 5 p.m. and # 5:30 p.m. # # According to court records, Stewart told Detectives Nelson Ferrone # and Thomas Rizzo that he then took a 5:40 p.m. ferry to Manhattan, # a subway to the Port Authority Bus Terminal and, finally, a bus # to an Atlantic City casino, where he said he spent several days # gambling. # # But the police Transit Bureau checked the Transit Authority's # computerized records for use of Stewart's identification card, # which doubles as a MetroCard, and those records documented a # different tale. # # According to the records and law enforcement authorities, # Stewart's card was used to board a southbound S54 bus about an # hour before the slaying -- a bus that runs along the street where # he lived, N. Burgher Ave., and past the Todt Hill Houses -- the # scene of the murder. # # Just 12 minutes after the slaying, Stewart's card was used to # board a northbound S54 bus, presumably away from the murder scene, # according to records and authorities. # # During a May 1 court hearing, Stewart's lawyer argued for bail, # noting that there was just one witness to the slaying, an # 11-year-old boy, according to court transcripts and official # records. # # But Tannenbaum-Newman countered: "The MTA MetroCard records show # that the defendant, shortly after violently killing Miss Williams, # took his MetroCard, used it. ... That information is in the # MetroCard records. It shows that the MetroCard with that ID number # was used on a certain bus at a certain time right before the # crime, and that bus drops off at that crime scene, and right # after the crime back to where the defendant lived at the time." # # After hearing from the prosecutor, Judge Leonard Rienzi ordered # that Stewart be held without bail. # # Rienzi described the case "as much more than a one-witness # [identification] case," adding that it appears prosecutors "have # substantial circumstantial evidence connecting the defendant # to this case." # # MetroCard records were used to challenge the alibi of Marco # Valencia, 23, in the Dec. 30, 1999, beating and robbery of a # supermarket manager on Central Park West in Manhattan. # # Valencia said he was in Staten Island all that day, but a check # of his MetroCard -- which he produced and said never left his # possession -- showed that on the night of the robbery, the card # was used to enter the No. 1 and 9 South Ferry subway station # in lower Manhattan. # # Valencia pleaded guilty and was sentenced to prison. # # Transportation technology in the form of E-ZPass also has proved # a valuable law enforcement tool. E-ZPass records helped track # down millionaire Nelson Gross, who was abducted outside his # Edgewater, N.J., restaurant in September 1997. # # Those records showed that his car had crossed the George # Washington Bridge twice that day; his body was found days later # near the span. Gross' car was found abandoned in Washington # Heights, blocks from the neighborhood of three teens ultimately # charged with the abduction and murder. They later pleaded guilty. # # * * * # # MetroCard Murder Mystery # # How MetroCard records foiled Christopher Stewart's alibi in the # March 8 slaying of his estranged girlfriend Angelique Williams, # according to court documents and law enforcement sources: # # * * * # # MetroCard Murder Mystery # # How MetroCard records foiled Christopher Stewart's alibi in the March # 8 slaying of his estranged girlfriend Angelique Williams, according to # court documents and law enforcement sources: # # Stewart's Version: # * 4:45 p.m.: Stewart boards an S46 bus near his house in Livingston, # S.I. # * 5-5:30 p.m.: Arrives at ferry terminal, exits the bus. # * 5:30 p.m. (approximate): Williams is killed. # * 5:40 p.m.: Stewart takes ferry to South Ferry terminal in lower # Manhattan. # * 6 p.m. (approximate): Stewart arrives in Manhattan, takes subway # to Port Authority Bus Terminal. # * 7:15 p.m.: Arrives at bus terminal. # * 8 p.m.: Stewart boards Academy bus to Atlantic City. # # Version Based on MetroCard Records: # * 4:18 p.m.: Stewart's work identification card, which doubles as a # MetroCard, is used to board a southbound S54 bus. The route runs # near Stewart's N. Burgher Ave. home, down through the borough, # partly on Manor Road. # * 5:30 p.m. (approximate): Williams is killed on Schmidts Lane # outside the Todt Hill Houses, near Manor Road and Schmidts Lane -- # close to the S54 bus route. # * 5:42 p.m.: Stewart's MetroCard is used to board a northbound S54 # bus. # # Original Publication Date: 5/15/01
