New York is missing out on the case

Murder: New York Opens her miniseries with an episode about the tragic death of Jennifer Stahl, an actress who appeared in dirty dancing and was murdered in cold blood. One of the few documentaries in the Dick Wolf universe of TV shows, Murder: New York is a 2024 mini-series of five episodes, which reveals different, gruesome murders that took place in New York City. The series features detectives, investigators, prosecutors and even those who knew the victims for an up close and personal look at the crimes.

This is not the first true crime series that Dick Wolf has done Cold justice And Criminal confessions It’s a notable entry in the genre, but it’s the first Wolf production to be made for Netflix. The first episode of the series is titled, “Carnegie Deli Massacre” and it’s the show off on a terrible note with a triple murder. Jennifer Stahl was a small-time actress living in New York CityWith some minor roles in movies viz dirty dancing And Firehouse. In one fateful evening, she was in her apartment above the famous Carnegie Deli, when something terrible happened.

Who is Jennifer Stahl? Background on the victim

Jennifer Stahl was an actress who appeared in Dirty Dancing

Jennifer Stahl was raised in Titusville, NJ, before moving to New York City to pursue acting. She only had some success, appearing in small roles in Firehouse And Necropolis. Her biggest claim to fame was in dirty dancingWhere she played one of the background dancers delighted by Johnny (Patrick Swayze). When the roles began to dry up, Stahl turned to singing and selling marijuana (through NYT). Far from being a major seller, Stahl mainly dealt high-grade weed almost exclusively to friends including several SNL cast members. It was a sort of boutique service to supplement an artistic lifestyle (via DenOfGeek).

The New York Times Article made the same year paints Stahl as a bit of a rebel. It suggests that because she came from an affluent family, she often chafed against the expectations her family placed on her. After her acting career stalled, she left the Actors Equity Union, married a man, divorced him, squabbled with her relatives, and eventually turned to music making, with the money provided by her small marijuana business.

She rented a small apartment a few stories above the famous Carnegie Delicatessen in Midtown, where tourists stopped to eat their pastrami sandwiches and stare at the photos of famous people on the wall. In her apartment, Stahl recorded music in a makeshift studio and was often surrounded by many friends. On the evening of her murder, Stahl was drinking wine and hanging out with Charles “Trey” Hillewell and his girlfriend Rosemond Dane, who were visiting. Stahl’s hairdresser, Anthony Vedder, was also there, exchanging a cut for some marijuana, and Stephen King was manning the door.

The tragic death of Jennifer Stahl in May 2001

Stahl and two of her friends were murdered in Stahl’s apartment

On the evening of May 10, 2001, two men walked up the five stories to Stahl’s apartment, making no effort to hide their identities. Stahl opened the door for Sean Salley and Andre “Dre” Smith. King appeared to recognize the pair by name, indicating one or both were previous customers. Guns were immediately drawn and Stahl told the men they could take whatever they wanted. While the guests were being tied, Witnesses to the event said Stahl was shot suddenly. The other four people in the apartment were also bound and shot.

Sally and Smith, who were not identified until later, fled the apartment with between $800-$1,000 and half a pound of marijuana. Helliwell and King died instantly. Dayne and Weeder were in serious but stable condition, and Weeder was able to call 911. Officers and paramedics arrived and managed to save Weeder and Dayne, but Stahl died of her injuries at the hospital. According to video surveillance footage in the building, Sally and Smith were in the apartment for less than six minutes.

Sean Salley and Andre “Dry” Smith were convicted of Stahl’s murder

Sally and Smith are after Stahl’s money

As King and Stahl seemed to recognize at least Sean Salley, it follows that Salley and/or Dre Smith were customers of Stahl, which points to how they knew Stahl was holding drugs and a substantial amount of money. Footage of them walking up the stairs to the apartment and back down after the murders showed the couple made no effort to hide their faces or wipe their fingerprints, indicating a lack of careful planning. All this suggests the crime was purely money-motivatedwith the killing possibly being incidental.

This is confirmed by a senior investigator, who says that after Stahl was shot, the man who connected the other guests asked his partner, “Why did you have to shoot her?“. The next shots at the remaining people in the apartment were delivered quickly. It seemed like a huge job, not something that was heavily pre-meditated. As in the Murder: New York In the case of Michael McMorrow’s murder, it didn’t take long for investigators to find Sally and Smith.

Detectives found video surveillance of the two men and identified them as Sally and Smith. They also picked up fingerprints from the duct tape used to bind the victims. Smith turned himself in to the police two weeks after the shooting. He eventually stopped stonewalling after detectives revealed they had his fingerprints. Smith revealed that Sally came to him with the jobExplaining the operation of Stahl and how it would be easy to get in and out without the need to even fire a weapon. According to Smith, Sally fired the shot that killed Stahl.

When Smith asked Sally what he was doing, Sally replied, “They knew me.” Sally escaped and went on the run in New York and New Jersey. When detectives put the case on America’s Most WantedThey received many tips, including one that led them to Sally in Miami. Sally admitted his plans to rob Stahl but was adamant that the initial shooting was accidental. He then said that Smith was the one who shot the others In the apartment. Each defendant accused the other of his responsibility, not necessitating two separate trials.

The trials were delayed due to the events of 9/11, but eventually the court case went through, with both sides blaming the other. On June 2, 2002, the jury concluded that they could not determine who exactly was responsible for the shooting at Stahl’s apartment on May 10, 2001. Therefore, both Smith and Sulley were convicted of three counts of second-degree murder, one conviction each for the deaths of Helliwell, King and Stahl.

On July 30, 2002, Smith and Salley were sentenced to three consecutive terms of 25 years to life in prison without parole. It was a tragic night for King, Helliwell and Jennifer Stahl; An actress in dirty dancingA singer, and a woman who clearly had many good friends. Murder: New York Episodes are generally not happy, but at least in the premiere, some justice is served.