Construction worker, 26, 'who murdered Brooklyn landlord and dumped his burned body in a trash can' is held without bail

  • Kendel Felix was arrested for the murder of Menachem Stark, a father-of-seven and prominent member of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect
  • Felix, 26, said nothing during his arraignment which lasted around a minute at Brooklyn criminal court

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: | Updated:

A construction worker was held without bond today over the murder of a Brooklyn real estate developer who was abducted as he left his office during a snowstorm and whose body was found dumped in a trash can.

Kendel Felix was arrested for the murder of Menachem Stark, a father-of-seven and prominent member of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect who owned and renovated several buildings in Brooklyn, New York, but owed millions of dollars.

Felix, 26, from Crown Heights, said nothing during his arraignment which lasted around a minute. He did not enter a plea at Brooklyn Criminal Court.

Kendel Felix (pictured left in court today) is arraigned for the murder of Menacham Stark in Brooklyn Criminal Court

Kendel Felix (pictured left in court today) is arraigned for the murder of Menacham Stark in Brooklyn Criminal Court

Menachem Stark, a father-of-seven and prominent member of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect, was murdered and his body burned in January

Menachem Stark, a father-of-seven and prominent member of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect, was murdered and his body burned in January

A police spokesman did not give a motive for the slaying, nor did he say if there were any other suspects in custody.

Surveillance footage shows Stark being strong-armed into a minivan the night of January 2.

One of his brothers-in-law contacted the Hasidic community's volunteer neighborhood patrol, the shomrim, when he didn't return home.

When the patrol members found his car and his office locked, they checked surveillance camera footage and then called police.

His burned body turned up a day later in a smoldering trash bin in suburban Long Island.

Stark, 39, has been described as an honest family man eager to help his neighbors and friends, a man who had no enemies. But he's also been called a slumlord. Some of his buildings were in disrepair, and he owed millions of dollars to creditors and had declared bankruptcy in 2009.

He lived in a stately brick building in Williamsburg, a neighborhood where hipsters in skinny jeans live alongside ultra-Orthodox men with ear locks and fur hats and women in modest dresses.

Brooklyn is home to the largest group of ultra-Orthodox Jews outside Israel, more than 250,000.

Stark came from a large family, and his funeral was flooded with mourners.

Kendal Felix was seen on security camera footage on the night of January 2, 2014. The man arrived at the scene in the minivan at 5pm and allegedly abducted Stark at 11.35pm

Kendal Felix was seen on security camera footage on the night of January 2, 2014. The man arrived at the scene in the minivan at 5pm and allegedly abducted Stark at 11.35pm

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