Daphne Abdela and Christopher Vasquez, a.k.a. The Baby-Faced Butchers, are a duo of teenage thrill killers who were convicted of the 1997 murder of Michael McMorrow in Central Park.
Background[]
Abdala is the adopted daughter of Angelo Abdala, a former executive for the CFC International food distribution empire. She was described as having been a troubled child, picking fights at school and drinking excessively since she was 12, getting her expelled from private school in the 8th grade. Vasquez was remembered as a working-class alter boy in Spanish Harlem, who was diagnosed with agoraphobia when he was 9. He was described in his childhood as shy and having been bullied. Abdala met McMorrow, a real estate broker, at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.
Murder and Aftermath[]
On May 22, 1997, as Abdala and Vasquez recounted, they, at the age of 15, and McMorrow went to Central Park to drink, before the two teens went skinny-dipping. Once they went back to shore, the two argued, McMorrow put an arm around Abdala to make a pass at her. They killed him with multiple stab wounds, mutilated his remains so he wouldn't be identified, and sank him into the lake where they just swam, stealing his wallet to burn later. McMorrow was ultimately identified from a business card still on his person.
Abdala sent a tip that was meant to be anonymous, but the kids were found at their respective homes with telling injuries and trying to wash McMorrow's blood off themselves in the bathroom. They were arrested when Abdala was found in possession of McMorrow's wallet and Vasquez had the murder weapon. The teens were found guilty of manslaughter and each sentenced to ten years in prison. They were released from prison in 2004, reportedly still residing in New York. Tabloids reported multiple accounts of their lives after prison. Vasquez's father Gerardo allegedly fought reports to keep them away from Vasquez, who kept out of the public eye, except to stop reporting on the crime decades after the fact. Abdala was arrested for aggravated harassment of another former inmate, which tightened her parole conditions. She sued for punitive damages after a car accident in 2009. It's reported at least one of them left an apology note on a bench near where McMorrow was murdered.
Modus Operandi[]
After Abdala kicked McMorrow to the ground while wearing roller skates, Vasquez stabbed McMorrow dozens of times in his face, neck, and hands to kill him. To prevent his identification, they cut off his hands and burned his wallet. McMorrow was then gutted and sunk into a lake so his remains wouldn't be found.
Known Victims[]
- May 22, 1997, Central Park, New York City, New Park: Michael McMorrow, 44 (stabbed 38 times in his face, neck, and hands; disemboweled, cut off his hands, and sunk in a lake postmortem)
On Criminal Minds[]
- Season Thirteen
- "Bad Moon on the Rise" - Abdala and Vasquez were mentioned in the episode.
Sources[]
- Google Books page for The Baby-Faced Butchers
- The New York Times