Daphne Abdela, known as the Baby-Faced Butcher, shocked the US with one of the most brutal murders of the nineties.
At just 15 years old, the food industry heiress was involved in the murder and disembowelment of Michael McMorrow in Central Park on the night of May 23, 1997.
Accused alongside her friend, Christopher Vasquez, also 15, Abdela was found guilty of attacking McMorrow after a night of drinking alcohol. The attack ultimately led to fatal injuries to McMorrow’s face, hands, and neck. His body was discovered in the Strawberry Fields section of the park, filled with stones, and pushed into a pond.
In the Netflix series “Homicide: New York,” former NY police department detectives revealed that Abdela called 911 after the killing, attempting to blame the murder on Vasquez. However, incriminating evidence led to Abdela accepting a manslaughter charge as part of a plea deal.
Abdela’s arrest made headlines in 1997, as she was the adopted daughter of the successful vice president of a major food company. Raised in New York City’s Upper West Side, Abdela attended the elite school Columbia Grammar and Preparatory. Described as brash and unmanageable, she preferred drinking and picking fights over studying.
Michael McMorrow’s murder remains a mystery to this day, with questions surrounding the true motivation behind the killing and who was truly responsible. Abdela and Vasquez were both convicted of manslaughter, serving six years of their sentence before being released. Abdela, sentenced to 3 to 10 years, was released in 2004.
In April 2024, Abdela was spotted in New York City for the first time since her case was featured in a Netflix documentary. Now 41 years old, her appearance has drastically changed, and she was seen using a cane to walk. Abdela was involved in a lawsuit in 2009 following a car accident that allegedly left her disabled.
