The grieving daughter of a Manhattan woman allegedly gunned down by a neighbor months after he was arrested for breaking into her apartment — and then set free on bail — sat stoically in court Tuesday as her mom’s accused killer was arraigned on murder charges.
Natalie Questa looked on from the second row of the courtroom gallery, flanked by supporters, as Lenue Moore, 32, pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging him with three counts of murder in the September slaying of mom of two Jackie Billini, her friend Levaunghn Harvin and her dog Zeus in Washington Heights.
She showed no visible emotion as a handcuffed Moore — who wore an orange city Department of Correction jacket and a blue surgical face mask — faced a judge during the brief hearing in Manhattan Supreme Court.
Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass said there was “voluminous” amount of discovery in the case, including surveillance video being reviewed by investigators.
Questa, 32, told The Post this week it felt like “a f—ing slap in the face” that Moore had been released by a judge on a measly bail after he allegedly broke into her mom’s apartment and attacked her in April, breaking her arm as he kicked in her door.
Months later, on Sept. 29, Moore allegedly ambushed Billini, 57, Harvin, 42, and Zeus on the corner of 161st Street and Edgecombe Avenue and killed them in a hail of 9 mm slugs, according to a criminal complaint.
The slayings apparently stemmed from a simmering feud between Billini, Moore and his mother, who lived across the hall from the victim’s second-floor apartment on West 163rd Street.
The spat apparently began earlier this year, when neighbors said Moore tried to kick one of Billini’s dogs, upset by their barking.
In February, Zeus, the pitbull was stabbed, and Questa said the family suspected, but could never prove, that Moore was to blame.
On April 11, Moore allegedly tried to kick in the door to Billini’s apartment, breaking her arm, smashing Questa in the face and slamming Questa’s boyfriend in the head with a hammer.
Moore was charged with burglary and assault but released when a Manhattan judge set his bail at a $5,000 bond — meaning he would only need to put up $500 to gain his freedom as the case played out in court.
“I said, ‘This is a f—ing joke,’” Questa, who didn’t comment after the hearing Tuesday, previously said of the handling of the case.
Moore spent nearly a month on the run before he was arrested in Brooklyn Oct. 26 and sent to Rikers Island without bail.
He was indicted on one count of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, as well as an animal cruelty charge and aggravated criminal contempt.
Under New York state law, a murder charge rises to first degree if certain factors are in place, including if the victim had been a witness against the defendant in an earlier incident, as Billini was in the earlier burglary and assault case.
That case and the murder case were combined during Tuesday’s hearing, and Moore is due to return to court on Dec. 7.
His Legal Aid Society lawyer declined to comment.
“Two beloved New Yorkers are dead, and my thoughts are with their utterly devastated family members in their ongoing grief,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement.
“The presence of a gun makes any situation far more likely to turn lethal, and ridding our streets of illegal firearms and the violence they bring remains my top priority as district attorney.”
Billini was part of the very system that failed her, her daughter has said — she was an analyst in state court in the Bronx.
“My mom believed in the justice system,” Questa previously told The Post.
“But it’s like, what ended up happening to us? We did everything the correct way. We didn’t retaliate, we didn’t do anything. We let the court system do its job and look what ended up happening to my mother.”
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
