New York Homicide on Oxygen: What happened at Jennifer Stahl's New York City apartment?

In May 2001, Jennifer Stahl, a former actress, and her friends, Rosemand Dane and Charles Helliwell III, were found dead in her apartment. Another friend of hers had been seriously wounded; however, Anthony Veader, her hairstylist, had been slightly injured. Upon the crime scene's investigation, the police discovered that the group had been shot execution-style and had died instantly.

The crime was reported by Anthony Veader, who called 911 as soon as he felt that the killers had left the apartment. It wasn't until a closer inspection of Jennifer Stahl's life that the police uncovered the truth behind the gruesome murders. While Stahl's career highlight had been portraying a minor role in the Hollywood blockbuster Dirty Dancing, her career, unfortunately, did not take off.

Jennifer Stahl in Dirty Dancing (Image via IMDb)

CBS News reveals that a former boyfriend of Stahl revealed to the police that, due to a lackluster career, Stahl abandoned the idea of auditioning for roles altogether. As a result of not finding employment, she resorted to selling drugs. Naturally, as a part of her job, she encountered numerous criminals in her day-to-day life, widening the suspect pool in the case significantly.

New York Homicide's new episode, titled Carnegie Deli Murders, will revisit the shocking murder case. The episode will include not only a detailed inspection of how the police were finally able to catch the killers, but it will also feature emotional interviews with the families and friends of the victims involved. The official synopsis of the episode, as per Rotten Tomatoes, reads:

"Talented performer Jennifer Stahl and four friends are discovered shot execution-style above New York's iconic Carnegie Deli in the theater district; when the news breaks, the entire city fears there's a cold-blooded killer on the loose."

The episode premieres on August 26, 2023, at 9 pm ET on Oxygen.

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Why was Jennifer Stahl murdered?

Sean Salley and Andre Smith were convicted of murder (Images via Oxygen)

Among the company present at Jennifer Stahl's apartment was 37-year-old hair stylist Anthony Veader. The hairstylist had reportedly worked in numerous Hollywood films and would often attend to private clients at odd hours of the day. This was the exact case on May 10, 2001, since Veader had been called by Stahl, a good friend of his, to cut her hair and have dinner afterward.

Veader, unlike the rest of the group, survived the shooting that took place in the apartment. Even though he was severely injured, he was able to call 911 to receive medical help and eventually help the police solve the case as he narrated the events that he had witnessed that evening.

CBS News reports that Anthony Veader stated that two armed men had visited the apartment with the intention of robbing Stahl's drug money. Stahl had $10,000 worth of marijuana in her house, and the armed men were none other than her customers who had been aware of Stahl's earnings.

While the first man, whom Veader identified as Sean, took Stahl into the recording room in the apartment, where he'd threatened to kill her if he did not give her the money and drugs, the other tied up the guests. Despite Stahl and the group surrendering to the men, the criminals decided to shoot them.

The clue, however, that the men had been Jennifer Stahl's customers and that one of them was called Sean, helped the police significantly in tracking down the killers. Finally, CBS News reported in 2002 that the police were finally able to prosecute the killers, Sean Salley and Andre Smith. They were found guilty on the charges of murder and robbery and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

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New York Homicide's upcoming episode, Carnegie Deli Murders, premieres on Oxygen on August 26, 2023, at 9 pm ET.