about the case, police said.

And Lewis taped a confession, saying he was upset at someone else -- a neighbour of his who played loud music -- and "lost it" when he saw Vetrano.

"One thing led to another," he said in the confession. "Hitting her and stuff like that."

Lewis said he strangled Vetrano but didn t sexually abuse her.

Lewis defence said that the DNA evidence hadn t been gathered properly and that the confession was coerced and didn t match Vetrano s injuries or some other facts.

The state Commission on Forensic Science ultimately agreed in June 2017 to allow familial DNA searching in murder, rape and some other cases. The decision came over the objections of civil libertarians who said the practice entangles law-abiding people in investigations because oftheir family ties.

By the time the commission gave its approval, Lewis had already been arrested.

In this Aug. 6, 2016, file photo, mourners carry the casket of Karina Vetrano from St. Helen s Church following her funeral in the Howard Beach section of the Queens borough of New York. (Steven Sunshine/Newsday via AP)

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