Queens jogger Karina Vetrano's convicted killer Chanel Lewis to file appeal alleging "racial dragnet," attorney says

The attorney for Karina Vetrano's convicted killer Chanel Lewis said he would soon be filing an appeal in the 2016 murder that shocked New York City. 

Vetrano, 30, was killed while she was out for a jog in Spring Creek Park in Howard Beach, Queens on Aug. 2, 2016. Her body was discovered by her father, Phil Vetrano.

Lewis' first trial ended in a hung jury. He was convicted at his second trial, and sentenced in 2019 to life in prison on first-degree murder and sexual assault charges.

"Karina got justice and the murderer got his justice," Phil Vetrano said at the time.  

Lewis has maintained his innocence. His mother and supporters accused the DA's office and judge of racial bias.

Among the key evidence in the case was DNA recovered from underneath Vetrano's fingernails. The jury foreman in Lewis' trial told reporters at the time the DNA evidence "was so overwhelming." 

Now an appeals court has ruled that Lewis can press ahead with his appeal, in which his attorneys argue Lewis was arrested amid a "racial dragnet."

"The core of the claim is that the NYPD improperly used a racial dragnet that was based on dubious science to unconstitutionally test hundreds and hundreds of Black people, and then the DA's office covered that up," said Ron Kuby, Lewis' attorney.  

Back in 2019, the Legal Aid Society claimed police "approached our Mr. Lewis to obtain a DNA swab as part of a race-biased dragnet, which involved the swabbing of over 360 African-American men in Howard Beach and other neighboring sections of Brooklyn and Queens."

"Despite the trial judge's relentless hostility toward an inquiry into the racial dragnet, and the Queen's DA's lengthy and vociferous opposition to a hearing on this matter, the appeals court has ruled that Mr. Lewis has raised a substantial issue that deserves appellate review. We will be filing the appeal within the next two months," Kuby said. 

"This decision provides a means for the defendant to get full review of his claims," a spokesperson for the Queens DA's office said.

Vetrano's family said Lewis and his attorneys can "file all they want."