Murder at New York's Essex House

Murder paid a visit to one of New York City's finest of the finest hotels on Central Park yesterday. It was a gruesome scene as a maid discovered  the body of a woman  with a knife sticking out of her neck. The victim has been identified as 44-year-old Andree Bejjani. She was found with a jump rope wrapped around her neck, lying face down in her 10th-floor condo in the Jumeirah Essex House with her nightgown pushed up.

NYPD officials have a hotel employee in custody at this time. Derrick Praileau, age 29, manager of  hotel housekeeping was in custody this morning at the Midtown North precint after police say he made statements that implicated himself in the gruesome crime. Police believe Praileau arrived early for his 6 a.m. shift and got into Bejjani's apartment with a key that he had. A video camera caught him entering her room. Praileau admitted to cops that he was inside the condo, but denied he killed the woman. Although her nightgown was pushed up, police say it is not clear if the victim had been sexually assaulted.

Six NYPD Detectives arrived at Praileau's White Plains Road home to arrest him today. Praileau, married father of two, has no previous criminal record and was considered to be a "very good family man" according to one neighbor, Sean Johnson.

Bejjani, who also went by the name Sara, once rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange. She had been subletting the unit since August. Bejjani is originally from Lebanon and  was last seen alive Friday at around 9 p.m. A grieving family member, who refused to give his name, said he was the only relative Bejjani had in America and he didn't know how he'd be able to summon the strength to inform relatives in Lebanon of her death. "I don't even know if I could call them," he said.

A. Cruz