Who were the two suspects convicted for the killings at Jennifer Stahl's apartment? Details explored ahead of New York Homicide on Oxygen

Former actress Jennifer Stahl and her two friends Rosemand Dane and Charles Helliwell III were found dead in her apartment on the evening of May 10, 2001. The victims had been shot to death and had died instantly, with no chance of recovery. However, there was another person in the room who had been shot as well. This was Anthony Veader, one of Stahl's friends who sustained minor injuries during the shooting and was able to call 911 after the shooters left.

CBS News said that Veader told the police that two armed men had come to the apartment in the evening and that Stahl recognized one of them as "Sean." However, the men soon ushered Jennifer Stahl into the recording room where they threatened to kill her. They then continued threatening the group and made them tie each other's hands and legs. The men went on to shoot everyone in the apartment before leaving with Stahl's money.

Jennifer Stahl (Image via Oxygen)

When the police began looking into Jennifer's personal life, they found that she had resorted to selling drugs as she wasn't getting enough roles in the acting industry. Jennifer had reportedly encountered numerous criminals in her day-to-day life and thus, the police concluded that the men were Stahl's clients who'd been aware of her hefty earnings.

DNA evidence found at the scene of the crime and the major clue by Anthony Veader, about one of the criminals' names, helped police track down the killers. They arrested and prosecuted criminals Sean Salley and Andre Smith, who were later sentenced to 25 years in prison on the counts of both murder and robbery.

The case will be covered in the new episode of New York Homicide, titled Carnegie Deli Murders. The episode is set to premiere on Oxygen on August 26, 2023, at 9 pm ET.

The official synopsis of the episode, as per IMDb, 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."

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Sean Salley and Andre Smith continue to serve their sentence in the Jennifer Stahl murder case

Sean Salley (Image via IMDb)

According to The New York Times, even after the arrest of Salley and Smith, the prosecutors were unsure as to who had fired the fatal shots in the apartment. Although the attorneys tried to pin the blame on Salley for firing all five shots, there wasn't enough evidence to prove the same.

Smith had also previously testified to the fact that Salley had fired all the shots, claiming that he had "acted like an animal" and that he "deserves to die." However, he later changed his story in court claiming that he hadn't been in the apartment at all. This was an obvious lie that helped the defense completely dismiss the claim against Salley.

What further complicated the matter is that Sean Salley testified that he had originally gone to Jennifer Stahl's apartment to buy some weed from her. However, upon reaching there it was Andre Smith who'd forced him at gunpoint to take part in the robbery. Salley continued by saying that he'd been handed a gun by Smith to threaten Jennifer Stahl, however, since Salley got nervous he accidentally shot her.

The lack of evidence in the case and the inconsistencies in the testimonies of both men forced the jury to find them both guilty on the counts of murder and robbery. The criminals were sentenced to twenty-five years in jail. They continue to serve their sentence today.

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