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The grieving daughter of a slain Manhattan girl says it’s “a f—ing slap within the face” that her mom’s accused assassin was allegedly free to kill despite breaking into the victim’s home and attacking her simply months earlier.
Natalie Questa stated homicide suspect Lenue Moore belonged behind bars after allegedly busting into the household’s Washington Heights condominium, breaking her mom’s arm, slamming her boyfriend within the head with a hammer and smashing her within the face.
But Moore, 31, was minimize free on a measly bail within the violent incident — and allegedly returned to the neighborhood some 5 months later, gunning down Jackie Billini, her pal and her pitbull, Zeus, in what police said was a long-running spat over the dog.
“It devastated us,” Questa, 32, informed The Post in a latest interview. “It felt like that was a f—ing slap within the face.”
Making it worse, Billini, 57, was a part of the very system that failed her, her daughter stated — she was an analyst in state court docket within the Bronx.
“My mother believed within the justice system,” Questa stated. “But it’s like, what ended up occurring to us? We did every little thing the right means. We didn’t retaliate, we didn’t do something. We let the court docket system do its job and look what ended up occurring to my mom.”
Prosecutors stated the slayings stemmed from a simmering feud between Billini, Moore and his mom, who lived throughout the corridor from the sufferer’s second-floor condominium on West 163rd Street.
The feud apparently started earlier this yr, when neighbors said Moore tried to kick one of Billini’s dogs, upset by their barking. In February, Zeus was stabbed, and Questa stated the household suspected, however might by no means show, that Moore was in charge.
Tensions got here to a head on April 11, when Moore allegedly got here after Billini’s household, kicking her condominium door in, in keeping with a legal grievance.
“I bear in mind it appeared like a slam, so I assumed possibly the canine knocked one thing over,” Questa recalled. “And my mother stated, ‘No, it’s the door,’ and he or she went and opened it.”
Moore “informed my mother to step exterior and that’s once I informed her to name the cops,” Questa stated.
“And that’s when he kicked the door open. On the primary kick he broke her arm, as a result of the door hit her arm. When the second got here, that’s once I ran in the direction of the door,” she continued.
“My pal walked over to attempt to assist shut the door, and my boyfriend came to visit to assist us shut the door,” she added. “It’s like 80% of his physique was in my home.”
The household referred to as the cops and Moore was arrested inside his mom’s condominium.
Moore was charged with assault and tried housebreaking, and Manhattan prosecutors requested that he be held on $15,000 money bail or a $30,000 bond, arguing that, regardless of him having no legal document, the allegations contain “a critical and violent case.”
But Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Melissa Lewis as a substitute set bail at $5,000 in money or a $5,000 bond — requiring Moore to put up simply 10%, or $500 to stroll free.
Moore remained free after his May 18 arraignment on an indictment that included upgraded housebreaking and assault expenses, as Manhattan Supreme Court Justice April Newbauer opted to maintain the identical bail circumstances in place, though prosecutors had once more requested for the upper quantity.
“I stated, ‘This is a f—ing joke,’” Questa stated of the dealing with of the case.
The court docket additionally issued an order of safety warning Moore to keep away from Billini and her household — however it didn’t cease him from allegedly concentrating on the mother as she walked with a pal and her canine.
On Sept. 29 — simply sooner or later after Moore was in court docket on the housebreaking and assault case — he allegedly killed Billini, her pal Levaughn Harvin and Zeus in a hail of 9 mm slugs on the nook of 161st Street and Edgecombe Avenue, in keeping with a legal grievance.
“He’s the primary one who got here to my thoughts,” Questa stated she considered Moore within the aftermath of her mother’s homicide.
Neighbors have informed The Post that Billini had requested Harvin to stroll along with her across the neighborhood as a result of she feared Moore following his launch on bail within the brutal break-in.
The accused killer spent almost a month on the run before he was arrested in Brooklyn Oct. 26 and despatched to Rikers Island with out bail.
He is ready to be arraigned on a Manhattan Supreme Court indictment charging him with Billini and Harvin’s murders Tuesday.
Al Baker, the spokesman for the state Office of Court Administration, defended the judge’s determination within the break-in case, noting that bail is required solely to make sure a defendant returns to court docket for future proceedings, which Moore did.
“The legal court docket judge adopted the regulation in figuring out the defendant’s launch standing,” Baker stated in a press release. “The legal court docket judges on this case weighed every little thing earlier than them to set bail and to make the very best selections doable within the curiosity of justice.”
He added Billini’s slaying was “significantly devastating” as a result of she labored for the court docket system, however stated the judge did her sworn responsibility and remained “skilled and neutral.”
The Legal Aid Society, which represents Moore within the homicide case, didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. His legal professional within the break-in case, which remains to be pending, declined remark.
Questa plans to be in court docket on Tuesday as Moore is indicted over the deadly taking pictures she stated might have been averted.
“I felt like they didn’t ever take us significantly,” she stated of the judge and the DA’s workplace. “I can not ever get my mom again. I can’t go f—ing house and see my mom. They can go house and relaxation peacefully, however I can’t do this. I’ll by no means have my mother.”
As for Moore, she stated, “I hope he by no means sees the sunshine of day.”
Additional reporting by Joe Marino
