NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – A Jersey City woman was charged in the murder of an 80-year-old Staten Island man found beaten to death in July with the words "I touch little girls" scrawled across his chest.
Rene Ayarde faces charges of murder, manslaughter and assault, police said Monday night. The 28-year-old was arrested Nov. 12 and extradited to New York on Monday.
Ayarde was a live-in health aide for Robert Raynor, who was found lying dead in a hallway at his home on Corson Avenue in Tompkinsville on July 19.
During Ayarde's arraignment Monday, prosecutors alleged she caused "significant trauma" to Raynor, who was in "failing health" and had cancer, according to the Staten Island Advance.
Ayarde's lawyer pleaded not guilty on her behalf. She was then ordered held without bail.
Authorities haven't revealed a potential motive in the killing.
Despite the words written on the victim's chest, he had no history of sex crimes and wasn't a registered sex offender, according to police. His daughter also defended him in an interview with the Daily News.
"That mess she wrote on his chest is not true," his daughter, Carolyn Whetstone, told the outlet. "She wrote that on him to justify what she did, which you cannot justify — taking anyone's life."
Hours after Raynor's body was found in July, Ayarde was charged with child abuse, allegedly for beating her 3-year-old daughter, WNBC reported.
