Man convicted of killing woman out running in NYC park

A man was convicted Monday of killing a woman out running near her New York City home in a case that stirred urban fears, helped change the state's DNA-investigation rules and raised questions about race and police procedures.

News station video showed Karina Vetrano's loved ones erupting in cheers as a Queens jury delivered in Chanel Lewis' retrial, convicting him of murder and sexual abuse in Vetrano's 2016 death. A previous trial ended in a hung jury in November; the second jury deliberated for only five hours, staying into the night to deliberate.

"Jubilation. Justice. Justice has been served," the victim's father, Phil Vetrano, told reporters while leaving court.

Lewis is set to be sentenced April 17 and faces up to life in prison.

Lewis' attorneys, the Legal Aid Society, called the outcome "a complete miscarriage of justice." They had unsuccessfully sought a hearing Monday after getting an anonymous letter saying that police had pursued two white suspects before taking DNA samples from hundreds of black men in what the defense called a "race-biased dragnet" and coming to focus on Lewis.

"Our client did not receive a fair trial," the Legal Aid Society said, adding that it would appeal.

The New York Police Department said in a statement that the anonymous letter was "riddled with falsehoods and inaccuracies," the investigation was painstaking and "the evidence clearly shows that Chanel Lewis is responsible for her death."