Jamaican man charged for shooting death of niece in Bronx

A Jamaican man in New York has been arrested and charged in connection with the shooting death of his niece on Monday night in the Bronx.

Michael Foster, 58, was on Wednesday charged with murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon.

Julia Anderson, whose parents are Jamaicans, was shot and killed in the Wakefield section of the Bronx just before midnight on Monday.

According to police and media reports, Anderson was in her motor vehicle, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, along Murdock Avenue and another roadway when she was shot twice in the chest.

She was reportedly attended to by emergency medical personnel but was pronounced dead on arrival at Jacobi Hospital.

Police are yet to establish a motive for the killing.

Anderson, who lived in Mount Vernon with her mother, less than a mile from where she was killed, was reportedly on her way home from work when the shooting occurred.

Police initially believed she had been shot by someone riding a moped.

Officers reportedly recovered two shell casings at the scene.

A resident living near the scene said they heard two gunshots, followed by a woman screaming for help.

Other witnesses said they saw a moped speed away from the scene immediately after the shots were fired.

However, it has not yet been determined whether the rider was the shooter or someone fleeing the scene.

Anderson's mother, Beverly Patterson, told a local news outlet that her younger daughter was the one who broke the news to her.

"My heart felt like it was going to come out [on hearing the news]," Patterson told a local television station.

According to Patterson, her daughter usually got home around midnight from work.

"Usually when she comes home I hear some kind of little noise. That's how I know she is home. But then I was wondering what happened," Patterson said.

Family members described Anderson as a hardworking woman who worked with people with disabilities.

Loved ones said she was just one month away from her 40th birthday.

- Lester Hinds

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