Tabitha Bundrick didn’t kill out of rage; she killed for a cell phone, a pair of shoes, and a watch.
Between April 2023 and February 2024, the 39-year-old woman persuaded three men to come up to a New York apartment. There, she offered them what she said was cocaine, but the substance contained fentanyl. According to the prosecution, she pushed them to keep using until they lost consciousness, then took their phones, money, watches, clothes, and sneakers.
The first victim was 42-year-old Mario Paullan, who had told her he had never tried drugs. Prosecutor Dafna Yoran says she pressured him three times to keep using. His friend woke up in an empty apartment, beside the body. Five months later, 39-year-old Miguel Navez died; his brother found him two days later, with his pants around his knees and the house ransacked. The third victim was 34-year-old Abrihan Fernandez, in February 2024. Cameras captured her taking out several giant laundry bags filled with sneakers.
This Tuesday, at Manhattan Supreme Court, Abrihan’s mother, Brigida Rodriguez, pointed at her and spoke with her son’s college ring on. “She took a piece of my heart”, she said. “I’m missing half my heart because she doesn’t have one”.
Bundrick, with a large wooden cross hanging around her neck, apologized and blamed her addiction. Judge Kathryn Paak sentenced her to 27 years to life, which she will serve alongside another 13-year federal sentence.
