Homicide New York: Where is Daphne Abdela now?

True crime fans have been shocked, horrified and intrigued by Netflix's latest true crime series Homicide: New York and, following the second epsiode, want to know where convicted killer Daphne Abdela is now her prison sentence is over. 

True crime fans have been well and truly satiated by the latest film and series releases offered up by various streaming platforms. From Under the Banner of Heaven on ITVX to the US film The Girl in the Basement, there are plenty of horrifying stories to binge. But no streaming service has quite cornered the true crime market like Netflix. 

Whether you were drawn in by the hit show Griselda - and you'll love these TV shows if you loved Netflix's Griselda - or couldn't draw your eyes away from David Tennant in Deadwater Fell, it's likely you've also found yourself unable to stop thinking about the platform's latest show, Homicide: New York.

Homicide: New York walks viewers through some of New York's most gruesome killings, bringing the stories of both the detectives who solved the cases and the victims and their family members who were affected to a wider audience. 

All of the five episodes sent a chill down viewers' spines, but episode two, Central Park Slaying, was particularly unnerving as those convicted of committing the crime were so young, both being just 15-years-old at the time of the killing. 

Unpacking the death of real estate agent Michael McMorrow, who was murdered in 1997, throughout the episode, NYPD homicide detective Rob Mooney details how he captured the killers, Daphne Abdela and Christopher Vasquez, who brutally stabbed McMorrow and left his body in Central Park lake. 

Both Abdela and Vasquez originally denied any involvement in the murder but later revealed that they had gone swimming in Central Park lake with the victim McMorrow, who Abdela knew in passing. The pair claimed that he had put his arm around Abdela, which Vasquez saw as an unwelcome advance, and had subsequently attacked him with a knife while Abdela kicked him. 

Unlike in the Netflix docuseries The Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal, the killers in this story were quickly found and convicted of their crime. Both teens were found guilty of manslaughter, as the jury couldn't decide which of the pair ultimately killed McMorrow, and were sentenced to up to 10 years in prison. But what has happened to them since? 

Where is Daphne Abdela now?

Daphne Abdela was released from prison in 2004 after serving just over six years of her 10 year sentence. Since then, she has made no appearance in public life and little is known about her whereabouts or what she is doing with her freedom. 

However, it was reported that in 2004, just a few months after her release from prison, Abdela was arrested for committing aggravated harassment after she called a woman she was in prison with, telling her, "If you leave your house, I’m going to kill you." She was not sent to prison for this offence, but it is believed she was placed under a curfew that kept her at home throughout the nighttime hours. 

Nothing has been heard from her since, though it is clear she has at least some remorse about her crime as she reportedly returned to the scene of Michael McMorrow's murder and left a note that read, "Rest easy. I tried to save you. I’m sorry I failed you. I’m sorry for the pain I caused you and your family."

Where is Christopher Vasquez now? 

Similarly to Daphne Abdela, Christopher Vasquez was released from prison in 2004 having served six years of his 10 year sentence for manslaughter. It seems that his time in prison has had a lasting impact on Vasquez as, since returning home to his parents' house in New York, according to reports in The New York Times, he has become depressed and suffers from 'really low self-esteem' as well as agoraphobia, an anxiety disorder characterised by a fear of leaving the house.