Tracey found guilty in stepmother's murder

Less than two weeks after his trial began, William Tracey was convicted of murdering his 42-year-old stepmother in Valley Stream last March.

After deliberating for less than a day, a 12-member jury found the 27-year-old Tracey guilty on June 16, rejecting claims by the defense that the evidence against Tracey was ambiguous and circumstantial. His attorney plans to appeal.

Denise Tracey went missing on March 28, 2009, and her body was found a day later in a dumpster behind a delicatessen on Dubois Avenue in Gibson. William Tracey was arrested in Fire Island less than a month later and charged with her murder.

He killed his stepmother after an argument outside his basement bedroom at their Dartmouth Street home, which they shared with William’s father and two brothers. According to police and prosecutors, he beat her to death and then wrapped her body in towels, blankets and bungee cords, then drove several blocks and threw her body in a dumpster.

Denise Tracey’s blood was found splattered on boxes outside William’s room, and his DNA was found on a towel that was wrapped around her body. A car matching the description of his was seen on a surveillance video, driving in the direction of the dumpster, shortly after 3 a.m. the day his stepmother went missing, and returning minutes later.

“This was a horrifically violent attack on an innocent woman,” said Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice. “Thanks to the excellent work done by Nassau County police and my office, this defendant now faces a lengthy prison sentence.”

Joseph Lo Piccolo, who represented Tracey, said there is no doubt he will appeal the verdict. “We have questions about the evidence that went before the jury,” he said.

Lo Piccolo explained that he is not satisfied with the police investigation that led to Tracey’s arrest, and said that authorities failed to rule out other suspects.

He was surprised by the jury’s verdict, and by how fast they reached it, Lo Piccolo said. “There was no question for me that there was reasonable doubt,” he said.

Tracey will be sentenced on Aug. 5, and could face 25 years to life in prison.