Could there be other suspects in elderly womans Skyline murder?
Syracuse, NY -- A month ago, Victoria Afet ignored her lawyers advice in asking a judge to plead guilty in the February murder of 93-year-old Connie Tuori. A judge wouldnt let her. On Monday, Afet appeared more willing to let her lawyers fight on her behalf at her second court appearance since arraignment on murder-by-torture charges in the infamous James Street apartment building. It was Afets first court appearance to go smoothly since her arrest. She stood quietly and allowed her assigned homicide lawyer, Susan Carey, do the talking. The victim was killed weeks before her body was discovered, authorities have said, and multiple people went in and out of Tuoris apartment during that time. So Carey asked that any DNA collected from the scene be run through a database to uncover any additional suspects or witnesses. Prosecutor Melinda McGunnigle agreed, but said she would link known individuals to the DNA first. An unknown number of people have been identified as entering and leaving Tuoris 12th floor apartment after her murder. Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick has promised to spare those people charges if they cooperate. But that also opens the possible suspect pool beyond Afet. And it only makes sense to investigate whether there any of those people could have possibly committed the murder. Victoria Afet, 23, of Syracuse, is pictured in this undated selfie.Provided  Its the kind of routine defense work that Afet seemed willing to forgo by her too-early guilty plea. But she now seems willing to let the process play out. Afets frustration last month came as she expressed frustration at being kept in nearly solitary conditions due to her previous outbursts in court and refusal to follow directions at the jail. In April, Afet was rolled into court in a straitjacket after authorities say she pulled a fire alarm during her previous court appearance. In mid-May, she was brought shackled to a wheelchair. She came back in the wheelchair in late May, during her official arraignment in which she asked the judge to plead guilty. On Monday, Afet was allowed to walk into court. Her only restraint besides the customary shackles was a gloved hand on her chain in the small of her back. And for the first time, Afet remained silent in court and seemed willing to listen to her lawyers explain what was going on. After court, Carey said she was pleased at how her client was now being treated, but said she didnt think that was the main reason Afet seemed more patient to let the court process play out. Assuming Afet continues to allow her lawyers to work on her behalf, the case will likely continue now into late 2021 or 2022. If she takes the case to trial, that will almost assuredly happen in 2022 -- courts are still backlogged from the yearlong Covid-19 trial shutdown. Afet faces life in prison without parole if convicted of first-degree murder. Shes facing two first-degree murder charges: one accusing her of torturing the elderly woman and the other accusing her of murder during the course of a burglary (its unclear what crime Afet is accused of committing inside of Tuoris apartment, leading to the burglary charge). She remains jailed and wont be back to court until Sept. 21. Staff writer Douglass Dowty can be reached at ddowty@syracuse.com or 315-470-6070.