NYPD Charges Hassan Malik in Death of Betty Williams, Woman Found in Suitcase

New York police have arrested a man in the beating and strangulation of a woman whose body was found stuffed inside a suitcase last week near a landmark restaurant.

Hassan Malik, 55, has been charged with murder in the second degree in the death of 28-year-old Betty Williams. He was arraigned this afternoon and ordered held without bond, police said.

When Malik was led out of the 23rd Precinct stationhouse in East Harlem early today, he told a reporter he was remorseful. When asked if he had anything to say to the victim's family, he said "yes," without elaborating, the New York Daily News reported.

Williams, a Bronx resident, was found Wednesday after police received a 911 call directing them to a large black suitcase on the sidewalk near Rao's restaurant in East Harlem. There, authorities found the body inside the bag, police told AOL News last week.

According to the medical examiner's office, Williams' death was caused by neck compression.

Police sources told the New York Post that Malik said he paid the victim to have sex with him. The two went to his Sleepy Hollow apartment, where Malik said he caught Williams stealing money from him. He told police the victim then hit him with a frying pan twice. Afterward, he struck her with it and strangled her with an electrical cord, the Post reported.

Police got a break in the homicide following the release of a video that shows the alleged assailant wheeling the suitcase containing the victim down East 114th Street. A tipster reportedly saw the video and contacted police after recognizing Malik.

Contacted by AOL News today, an official with the NYPD confirmed Malik's arrest but declined to comment on the case.

The victim has a history of drug arrests, New York's CBS 2 reported. The Post also reported that Malik has a criminal record that includes arrests for assault, aggravated harassment, robbery and drugs.

The location where Williams' body was found is not far from where another body was found in a suitcase in June 2003.