The man accused of brutally stabbing a 41-year-old event planner in his Hell’s Kitchen apartment was arrested Saturday in Vermont, authorities said.
Justin Waller, 31, was taken into custody Saturday afternoon at a friend’s home in Manchester, Vermont, after confessing to NYPD detectives that he killed John Lea.
Police say they were able to find Waller partially by tracking the use of the victim’s credit cards.
Waller had charged “a few hundred dollars” to one of Lea’ credit cards to hire a car to drive him to Vermont, according Sgt. Michael Hall of the Manchester Police Department.
Never Miss a Beat
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.
Investigators believe the two men got into a dispute over the living arrangement when Lea asked Waller to move out since he wasn’t paying rent. Other reports have said that the two men were lovers.
Waller is being held at Marble Valley Correctional Center in Rutland. His bail was set at $500,000., and will be arraigned Monday on fugitive charges before being extradited to New York to face murder charges, police said.
Lea’s body was discovered by police on Thursday after concerned friends dialed 911 when he failed to show up to his job with the New York Society of Security Analysts.
