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Lloyd Lewis, 25, had been stealing various items from the home of Emma Gruber, including jewelry, a water meter, pipes, cords, a brass pitcher and a brass elephant statue and sold the items for cash, the District Attorney said.
Gruber went missing on Feb. 10, 2014. Authorities found her body in her basement days later after being beaten to death with a piece of lumber, the district attorney said.
“A trusting, vibrant, churchgoing octogenarian, who lived by herself and would always lend a hand to anyone in her neighborhood, sadly losinging her life over some copper plumbing and a few household items," DiFiore said in a statement. "Excellent detective work by Mount Vernon police allowed investigators to zero in on this defendant who now will be held accountable for her death.”
Lewis arrested and charged with burglary in the third degree for burglarizing a detached garage of a nearby abandoned home. A concerned resident saw the defendant walking down the street with a red suitcase and dialed 911.
Lewis was charged with homicide after it was ruled that Gruber's death was the result of blunt force trauma. He will be sentenced on May 14 and faces 25 years-to-life in prison, the district attorney said.
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