Arrest made in killing of woman found dead in Floral Park motel, police say
Ruth Toussaint, 34, of Elmont, outside a Nassau court Wednesday. She's charged with the killing of a 28-year-old woman found dead Sunday at a Floral Park motel. Credit: Howard Schnapp
An Elmont resident faces a murder charge after her arrest in connection with the killing of a woman whose body was found at a Floral Park motel, Nassau police said Wednesday.
Ruth Toussaint, 34, was charged with second-degree murder in the death of Destinee Lavender, 28, also of Elmont, police said.
Lavender was found dead about 1:10 p.m. Sunday at the Floral Park Motor Lodge on Jericho Turnpike, police said.
Toussaint's scheduled arraignment Wednesday was adjourned until Monday, according to court records.
Her attorney, Mindy Ellen Plotkin of Garden City Park, could not be immediately reached for comment.
Additional information about the case — including the relationship between the two women, how Lavender was killed, or what led investigators to charge Toussaint — was not immediately available Wednesday.
With Keldy Ortiz
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