Judge sets bail for man accused of killing wife in Yonkers in 1997
Westchester prosecutors are seeking a court order to obtain a DNA sample from Rafael Ramos, suspecting that it was his blood found on a T-shirt used to strangle his estranged wife in Yonkers 26 years ago.
Assistant District Attorney Daniel Flecha said in court Thursday that new testing revealed it was male DNA on the T-shirt. And he pushed for Ramos to remain held without bail, calling him a flight risk and saying he had threatened witnesses over the years if they revealed admissions he made about the killing.
Ramos, 54, of Sleepy Hollow, was arrested last month on an indictment charging him with second-degree murder in the 1997 death of Nusinaida Ramos, who was strangled and beaten in her Colin Street home on March 9 of that year. She was living there with the couple's two young children, who were with Ramos and his girlfriend the day of the killing. Flecha said the killing was a "very personal vendetta" by Ramos as a result of Nusinaida's request for more child support and her plans to move with the kids to Florida.
Westchester County Judge George Fufidio was unpersuaded that Ramos posed a flight risk after so many years as a suspect, rejecting Flecha's request that he deny bail. He set bail at $750,000 cash, $1 million bond or $2 million partially secured bond that would require $200,000 in cash.
Lynda Visco, Ramos' lawyer, argued in her bail application that Ramos had the support of his two adult children and his mother; was made aware of his pending arrest last month and stayed at home; and was eager to fight the charge. Visco said that because Ramos is a former corrections officer, he is held in protective custody at the county jail, hampering his ability to meet with her and to use the law library.
Ramos was fired by the state corrections department in 2003 after nine years at Sing Sing. He said he has been unemployed in recent years after the Manhattan hotel where he worked security closed during the pandemic.
Visco asked for $50,000 bail or $500,000 bond.
DA: Ramos' watch was found under body
But Flecha said Ramos has the means to flee, citing $200,000 his late father left him for a legal defense fund because he knew his son would eventually be arrested in the case. The prosecutor also alleged that Ramos had told colleagues and people close to him of his intent to kill his wife and the details of the killing itself.
Flecha said that Ramos' watch broke during his alleged attack on his wife. It was found under her body, Flecha said, after police went there to check on her because relatives were concerned she could not be reached since the day before while her kids were with Ramos.
The prosecutor also said Ramos tried to clean the blood with a mop.
Authorities have not pinpointed specifically when Nusinaida was killed. But in a statement detectives took from Ramos hours after the body was found, he purportedly told them he was inside alone with Nusinaida for a short time to go to the bathroom and get the kids' bag while they waited in the car. He denied having any confrontation with Nusinaida and insisted he had nothing to do with her death.
Visco said that shortly after the killing, Ramos took a polygraph test and offered to give his hair and blood for testing but that detectives told him that wouldn't be necessary. Flecha said that detectives on multiple occasions over the years sought a DNA sample from Ramos, but that he refused — and witnesses have shared with authorities that he lived in "absolute panic" that police might have access to his DNA.
Visco said she will fight the request for a DNA sample and Fufidio gave her until next week to file her opposition.
If Ramos can make bail, he would be confined to his home and required to wear an electronic monitoring anklet. He would also have to sign an agreement to return, meaning if he fled and was caught out of New York he would automatically be sent back without extradition proceedings.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Bail set for suspected wife-killer Rafael Ramos, prosecutors seek DNA
