4 key details about the murders at Jennifer Stahl’s apartment

New York Homicide's new episode, Carnegie Deli Murders, will entail the shocking 2001 murder case of former actress Jennifer Stahl and her friends, Stephen King and Charles Helliwell III. The episode will provide deeper insight and new information on the events leading to the killings. Additionally, it will feature emotional interviews with both the victims' family and friends. The episode premieres on August 26, 2023, at 9 p.m. ET, exclusively on Oxygen.

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."

On May 10, 2001, Jennifer Stahl and her friends were found dead in her Midtown, New York apartment, just five stories above the world-famous Carnegie Delicatessen. The police discovered a chaotic crime scene with numerous bloody handprints on the walls and the victims' legs and hands bound by duct tape. Lastly, they concluded that the victims had been shot to death.

The investigation that followed the case revealed numerous shocking facts about the victims. Due to the persistent efforts of the investigators on the case, the killers were finally prosecuted in 2002. However, there remain several unexplainable and unsolved facts about the case that continue to baffle most today.

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4 things to know about Jennifer Stahl's murder case

1) Anthony Veader and Rosemond Dane survived the shootout at Jennifer Stahl's apartment

Jennifer Stahl's apartment building (Image via Getty)

Among the guests gathered in Jennifer Stahl's apartment on the evening of May 10, 2023, were hairstylist Anthony Veader and store owner Rosemond Dane. Both Veader and Dane had survived the shootout in Stahl's apartment. While Dane had been seriously injured, Veader was slightly wounded and, therefore, managed to call 911 to report the crime and call for medical help.

CBS News reveals that it was Veader who narrated the entire series of events that occurred in the apartment to the police. He revealed that two armed men had visited the apartment and that Stahl had recognized one of them, calling him Sean. While the first man ushered Stahl into the recording room, where he threatened to kill her, the other ordered the guests to tie each other's hands and legs with duct tape.

Then, the group heard shots from the recording room, and the next thing they knew, they were being shot at. The New York Times reveals that the police concluded that the men had committed a "rush job" and hadn't checked twice if everyone in the room was dead.

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2) Jennifer Stahl used to sell drugs

Jennifer Stahl (Image via IMDb)

CBS News reveals that during the investigation into Jennifer Stahl's personal life to find a potential motive for her murder, the police discovered that the actress used to sell drugs.

Stahl's career highlight had been to star in a minor role in the Hollywood blockbuster Dirty Dancing, and ever since, she'd hoped that her career would take off someday. However, that did not happen. Appearing in a few more movies in forgettable roles, Stahl eventually gave up the idea of acting altogether. Instead, she turned to singing, another career that did not match her expectations.

Finally, Stahl resorted to selling drugs to pay her monthly rent and bills. This discovery led police to investigate Stahl's clients to find people resembling the description of the criminals Anthony Veader gave.

During this investigation, the police found criminals, Sean Salley and Anthony Smith, matching the exact description of the sketch Anthony Veader gave. Salley and Smith's DNA prints were also found on the duct tape at the scene.

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3) It is unclear who killed the victims in the apartment

Sean Salley (Image via Oxygen)

The New York Times reported that in the legal trials that followed the capture of Sean Salley and Andre Smith, the attorneys appointed for the victims claimed that the former had been the one who shot at all the people in the apartment that evening. This claim, however, could not be backed by sufficient evidence.

The only hope to prove this claim had been to quote Andre Smith's initial testimony, where he'd claimed that while the incident was planned to be a robbery, Salley decided to shoot everyone in the apartment. According to Smith, Salley acted "like an animal" and "deserves to die." The claim was even backed by Anthony Veader, who'd been conscious for the duration of the incident, as he stated that he'd heard Smith say,

"Why did you have to shoot her?''

However, the claim was dismissed as Andre Smith later changed his version of events and made the outrageous claim that he wasn't in the apartment in the first place, even though Veader testified to his presence. Additionally, he was also captured in the CCTV cameras outside the apartment. Smith lost all his credibility due to this change, and eventually, the claim against Sean Salley could not be proven.

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4) Sean Salley and Andre Smith were both sentenced to 25 years in prison

Sean Salley and Andre Smith (Images via Oxygen)

CBS News reveals that after puzzling testimonies from Salley and Smith, there were numerous inconsistencies in the case for which no evidence could be presented.

Due to this problem, the jurors were conflicted about what sentence should be given to either criminal or if their sentences should differ. Finally, Sean Salley and Andre Smith were convicted of robbery and murder. Since no claim could be made as to who killed the victims in the case, the jury decided to present them with the same sentence: twenty-five years in prison.

The criminals 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.