Chad Irish, ex-con charged in NYC woman’s sleeping bag death, has a twin with a lengthy rap sheet – and they share the same name
An ex-con with a lengthy rap sheet has been taken into custody and charged after a Big Apple woman was found shot dead, wrapped in a sleeping bag and dumped outside with the trash, police sources told The Post Tuesday.
Chad Irish, 55, — who has a twin brother by the same name with his own rap sheet — was charged with concealment of a human corpse, criminal possession of a weapon and menacing after he was brought in for questioning on Monday over the death of 31-year-old Yazmeen Williams, the sources said.
He has not been charged with killing the 31-year-old victim so far but is the only person of interest tied to the slaying, police sources said.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said at a briefing that cops have surveillance footage of a man in a wheelchair dragging the body along.
“We backtracked that video to the Strauss Houses to where our eventual perpetrator, Chad Irish, is removing the package, sleeping bag, from the location in his wheelchair,” Kenny said.
He said cops identified Williams as the victim from neighbors.
“When they take her body out of the sleeping bag a bullet falls out of the back of her head, so we know that she was shot in the head,” Kenny told reporters. “So, we’re still working the homicide case.”
What to know about the shocking death of Yazmeen Williams, the woman found dumped in a sleeping bag in NYC:
- Mom in agony after daughter found murdered, body dumped in sleeping bag
- Video reveals ex-con dragging woman’s body in sleeping bag on NYC street as wheelchair-bound suspect hit with murder charge
- Wild video of angry mob swarming person of interest in homicide of NYC woman found in sleeping bag as he’s taken into custody
- Chad Irish, ex-con charged in NYC woman’s sleeping bag death, has a twin with a lengthy rap sheet – with the same name
He said Williams “used to stay with [Irish] at times.
“I’m not sure if their relationship was romantic or if it was more for convenience,” the chief said. “She would just stay with him. I’m sure there was some narcotics arrangement involved.”
Irish has 21 priors to his name, sources said.
He served three years in prison after he was convicted of attempted arson for trying to blow up his uncle’s home in the Bronx back in 1994 by dislodging a gas pipe and two propane tanks, sparking an explosion.
Police said the menacing and weapons charges that were lodged against him this week were not tied to Williams’ death but were from outstanding warrants that stemmed from a prior incident.
It comes after the person of interest was mobbed by dozens of angry locals on Monday when cops hauled him in for questioning over Williams’ death.
The victim’s grief-stricken mom, Nicole Williams, was among those who came face-to-face with Irish after cops brought him outside of the Straus Houses, a NYCHA complex, in Kips Bay on a stretcher and loaded him into an ambulance.
At least one man managed to punch Irish as others screamed “kill him,” footage of the chaos shows.
Williams’ body was found stuffed inside the sleeping bag and dumped next to a pile of trash on East 27th Street in Manhattan late Friday.
Her death was ruled a homicide after cops confirmed Monday that she had been shot in the head.
The victim’s mom had earlier revealed to The Post that she believed her daughter’s killer was a friend of hers who uses a wheelchair.
At a press briefing Tuesday, Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer told reporters that Yazmeen was set to start a job this week with the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
“It hits home,” Torres-Springer said. “While she has not yet been a public servant, I think the entire city feels for her.”
Mayor Eric Adams called the slaying “horrific.”
“How inhumane you are dragging down the block somebody’s daughter,” the mayor said. “He should be lucky that the police got him before that, be lucky that the police got him before that community.”
Irish landed on the NYPD’s radar after he was allegedly seen in an electric wheelchair dragging the sleeping bag, sources said.
His mother told The Post Tuesday that she was praying for all involved.
“I’m just praying for us all, asking God to get us through this,” Theresa Irish said. “I am praying for my son, I’m praying for the young lady.
“Just keeping everybody in prayer,” she added.
Meanwhile, his twin brother, who also uses the name Chad Irish, is on parole for robbery and assault, law enforcement sources said.
Additional reporting by Georgett Roberts
