RELIVING KARINA’S HORROR
Mom’s court ordeal as slay trial opens
Enduring a prosecutor’s blow-by-blow of the horrific final moments of her daughter’s life proved grueling for the mother of a Queens woman who was murdered while out for a run.
Karina Vetrano’s mom, Cathie, sobbed silently as Assistant District Attorney Brad Leventhal told the court how Chanel Lewis, 22, allegedly “squeezed” the life out of her 30-year-old daughter.
“He placed his hands around her neck and he squeezed and he squeezed,” Leventhal said in his opening statement at Lewis’ Queens murder trial. “He strangled her until she was dead.”
It only got harder to bear for the Vetrano family members in attendance as prosecutors displayed gruesome enlarged photos of Karina dead on her stomach with her buttocks exposed and her jogging shorts wrapped around her ankle.
“Oh, my God,” one family member gasped before the clan huddled together, unable to look at the evidence being displayed for the court.
Vetrano was murdered while out on a solo run at 5 p.m on Aug. 2, 2016, on a remote dirt path through underdeveloped marshy land in Howard Beach.
Amid a police search of the desolate stretch, her father, Philip Vetrano, found the woman’s body in a high-weeded area off 165th Avenue and 78th Street at about 10:30 p.m., sources told The Post at the time.
Philip, a former firefighter who was not in the courtroom Monday because he is expected to testify this week, screamed after making the gruesome discovery.
“He fell to his knees hysterical and cradled her, lifted her to his chest,” Leventhal told the court. “He will tell you she was stiff. He will tell you he knew her life was gone. His little girl was gone and she wasn’t coming home.”
Lewis groped at, pulled and ripped Vetrano’s clothing as she fought for her life during the struggle, according to Leventhal.
Authorities said that, after he beat and strangled her, he dragged Vetrano’s limp body into the dense brush before dumping her there and fleeing.
“She fought for her life,” Leventhal said. “She tried to get away, but he overpowered her.”
Prosecutors said Lewis had pictures of Vetrano and the crime scene on his phone, as well as photos of his hand injuries that were taken shortly after the attack.
The defendant told hospital staff he hurt his hand while jogging in the park, Leventhal said.
He was arrested six months later. Prosecutors allege that his DNA matched evidence found on the victim.
“The evidence in this case is overwhelming,” Leventhal said.
The family declined to speak after the proceeding.
The trial will resume on Wednesday. pdegregory@nypost.com