NEWARK, N.J. (1010 WINS) — Two men, including a 71-year-old, have been charged with the murder of a Bronx man who was found shot to death on a New Jersey hiking trail in March, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office announced Wednesday.
Michael Verdel, 71, of the Bronx, and Posley Sulaiman, 31, of Detroit, are facing charges in the March 4 murder of Kelsey Steels, who was killed on the trail at Eagle Rock Reservation in West Orange.
Prosecutors allege Verdel and Sulaiman met Steels at Verdel's Bronx apartment and then brought him to the trail, where he was fatally shot.
Steels' body was eventually discovered by several hikers around 2 p.m.
Verdel, also known as "the rabbi," was arrested in New York and extradited to New Jersey and will appear at a detention hearing on May 16.
Sulaiman remains in custody at Rikers Island on a New York gun charge and was due to appear in a New York court on Wednesday.
Both are charged with first-degree murder, first-degree felony murder, first-degree conspiracy, and first-degree robbery, as well as second-degree charges of unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.
The investigation remains active and ongoing, according to the prosecutor's office. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Essex County Prosecutor's Office tips line at 1-877-TIPS-4EC or 1-877-847-7432.
All calls will remain confidential.
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