A money dispute in a quiet East Elmhurst home has ended with a young tenant headed to prison for more than two decades and a family still grieving the loss of a mother and neighbor.
Davi Vidal, 21, was sentenced Friday to 22½ years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the death of his 55-year-old landlady, Zoraida Leo. Prosecutors say a disagreement over unpaid rent in December 2023 spiraled into a deadly confrontation that left Leo dead on the floor of her own apartment and stunned a tight-knit Queens community.
Sentence and plea
According to a press release from the Queens District Attorney’s Office, Vidal pleaded guilty last month to manslaughter in the first degree in satisfaction of the original indictment. Queens Supreme Court Justice Ushir Pandit‑Durant sentenced him to 22½ years in prison, to be followed by five years of post-release supervision.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz described the attack as brutal and said Vidal "callously left her to die on the floor of her own home," according to the DA’s statement.
What prosecutors say happened
Prosecutors say the fatal dispute began on the evening of Dec. 4, 2023, when Leo summoned Vidal downstairs to talk about back rent. The conversation escalated into a physical struggle, local reporting shows.
When Leo did not show up for work the next day, worried family members went to check on her. They found her unresponsive inside the East Elmhurst residence. Law enforcement later determined she died of strangulation, according to QNS and court records.
Defendant's statement and evidence
The New York Daily News reported that Vidal told arresting officers, "When she fell, I didn't help her because I was scared." Prosecutors say investigators found him at the scene crying, with visible scratch marks on his body.
The Office of Chief Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death was strangulation, consistent with the account laid out in local court filings and reporting.
Legal context
Vidal was originally indicted on a murder charge in December 2023. His guilty plea this month to first-degree manslaughter resolved that indictment, according to prosecutors and court records. The 22½-year sentence announced Friday reflects the plea agreement reached between the defense and the Queens DA's Homicide Bureau.
Family and community reaction
Leo's relatives have publicly pressed for answers and voiced outrage over the loss of a mother and community member, according to local reporting. The DA's office said its Homicide Bureau handled the case, securing the plea and sentence that the office described as a measure of justice for Leo's family, even as the neighborhood continues to grapple with how a rent talk turned into a killing.
