The father of slain Queens jogger Karina Vetrano took a somber moment of reflection on Tuesday, saying he feels like a “weight has been lifted” a day after her killer’s conviction.
As the sunshine beat down and birds chirped around him, Phil Vetrano stood at the very site in Howard Beach’s Spring Creek Park where his 30-year-old daughter’s body was discovered in 2016.
“It feels like a weight has been lifted. I woke up with a different feeling. There’s no more of that, ‘OK, now we got to put him away,'” Vetrano told reporters after taking about 10 minutes to pray and speak to Karina at the makeshift memorial. “Now it’s done.”
It took jurors in Queens just five hours on Monday to find Chanel Lewis guilty on all four counts — first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse — in Karina’s death.
The conviction comes after the 22-year-old admitted murderer’s first trial ended in a hung jury in November after just one day of deliberations.
Vetrano said he comes to the reed-filled jogging path every day to speak to his late daughter and feed cats and birds.
“It actually gives me peace here. It’s the only place I can go to get peace,” he said.
The heartbroken dad quietly added about the outcome of his daughter’s case, “She had her hand in this. She’s very powerful.”
Outside the Vetranos’ home on 84th Street in Howard Beach, a large set of silver angel wings hung from a second-floor window in Karina’s honor, while a statue of an angel sat near the front door.
“My son made those wings. He drew them out, he made them with a plasma cutter,” said Vetrano. “That’s my baby’s wings.”