Long Island, NY: Man Is Arrested For Woman's Brutal Murder.....
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Man Charged in Banoff Murder
By Phil Mintz
A 36-year-old Central Islip man has been arrested for last week's murder of
Deborah Banoff after a motorist spotted the suspect driving the dead woman's
car, Suffolk police said this morning.
Police said a female motorist spotted the gold Grand Am on Hempstead
Turnpike in Farmingdale yesterday. She recognized the car and the license
plate number from a news report. The woman followed the car until the driver
pulled into the parking lot of an OTB parlor.
The woman called 911 and when Nassau police arrived they took her into the
betting parlor, where she pointed out the driver. Police then took Joseph
Melville, 36, of 158 Acorn St., Central Islip, into custody.
Police allege that Melville confronted Banoff, who was 29, during a robbery
last Wednesday morning as she arrived for work at Tuttnauer USA Co. in
Hauppauge. They said Melville worked at the loading dock of a company next
door and knew what time she arrived each morning. Melville's original plan
was to rob her, police said. He tied her hands, blindfolded her, and drove
to a wooded area near the Deer Park LIRR station. There, police allege, he
sexually abused her and then bludgeoned her to death with a piece of cement.
Banoff's body was discovered a day later after co-workers and relatives
reported her missing.
Melville is charged with first-degree murder. He is to be arraigned today in
First District Court in Central Islip.