Story by Ethan
On July 22nd, 2025, the arrest of Jose Lequerica, age 50, was announced by Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. Jose Lequerica was charged with two counts of second-degree Murder. The arrest and charges against Jose Lequerica were a result of an investigation handled by detectives from the NYPD.
According to the Queens District Attorney’s Office, during the evening of November 15th, 2024, Jose Lequerica reportedly slapped his wife, 48-year-old Asli Ak, across her head, face, and body several times before leaving the apartment. After about two hours the defendant had returned to sleep on the couch. The next day at approximately 10:45 a.m. Jose Lequerica found Asli Ak unconscious on the floor in their bedroom before allegedly waiting until 6:22 p.m. before calling emergency services for help. The victim was taken to a local hospital with severe bruising, and was pronounced as braindead on November 20th, 2024. An autopsy was performed that revealed the cause of death was blunt force trauma to her head that caused a hematoma that led to swelling inside her head that crushed her brain stem. Following the indictment an arrest warrant was issued that led to members of the NYPD locating and arresting Jose Lequerica inside his apartment on July 22nd, 2025.
The Queens District Attorney’s Office stated that the charges against Jose Lequerica are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
