On September 9th, 2024, at approximately 10:50pm, then 15-year-old Dante Schaller and an unknown accomplice followed the 57-year-old female victim's (Ying Zhu Liu) husband (Shen Yan) into the Market Street condo's elevator and presented a handgun in a robbery attempt.
When the elevator reached the 8th floor, which is were Yan lives, Yan saw and tried to warn his son to stack back because the robbers had a fun. The son, 32-year-old Lin Rong Yan, attempted to help his father but was pistol-whipped by one of the suspects.
The victim (Ying Zhu Liu), heard the commotion in the hallway and attempted to intervene, but one of the suspects fired a single shot at Liu's head from 3 feet away, killing her instantly.
Schaller and his accomplice were seen on security video from a nearby deli, and Schaller was identified by the red hoodie he allegedly wore during the murder.
Investigators found this hoodie during a sweep of his East 167th Street residence.Police also found one 9mm round at his home, along with a 9mm shell they recovered from the crime scene.
Schaller, who turned 16 on Sept 11th, has an open felony case for assaulting a police officer, and will be tried as an adult in this case.
