'Now your nightmare begins': Mother of murdered Queens jogger screams at 20-year-old who 'admitted' raping and strangling her daughter as they come face to face in court six months after her grisly death

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The mother of murdered jogger Karina Vetrano hurled abuse at the man police say has confessed to killing her daughter on Sunday as they came face to face for the first time in court.

Cathy Vetrano was joined by her husband Phil and dozens of relatives and friends to watch Chanel Lewis, 20, be arraigned at a Queens Criminal Court court on Sunday night. 

'Now your nightmare begins,' she screamed as Lewis was formally charged with murdering Karina in Spring Creek Park on August 2.

Mrs Vetrano, who has maintained an active public profile since her daughter's murder, earlier deemed him a 'savage' and a 'demon' who 'must get his justice'. 

She and her former fire fighter husband vowed to attend all of Lewis's court appearances after news of his arrest spread on Sunday.

NYPD detectives arrested Lewis, an unemployed 20-year-old, at his mother's house in East New York, Brooklyn, on Saturday after matching his DNA to traces found under Karina's fingernails. 

Police say he has made 'detailed' confessions about attacking Vetrano since being taken into custody.

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'Now your nightmare begins': Cathy Vetrano shouted at Chanel Lewis, the 20-year-old accused of murdering her daughter Karina, as he was arraigned at Queens Criminal Court on Sunday 

Lewis was arrested on Saturday in East New York, Brooklyn, and is facing one count of second degree murder 

The 20-year-old was held without bond on Sunday night and will reappear in court on February 21 

Lewis was staying with his father at the time of the murder and had gone to the park 'angry' on August 2 because there were too many people in the house, sources told New York Daily News.  

He had never met Karina before when they crossed paths, but sources say Lewis had a 'deep seated aggression' towards women.

The Queens District Attorney's Office would not comment on the theory on Monday morning, telling DailyMail.com: 'It's an ongoing investigation.' 

Detectives honed in on him after reviewing a 911 call from May last year, two months before the murder, which reported a man acting suspiciously near the park in Howard Beach, Queens. 

Lewis is accused of murdering 30-year-old Karina Vetrano as she jogged near her home in Howard Beach, Queens, on August 2 

He is facing one charge of second degree murder with more likely to be brought as the District Attorney's investigation continues. 

The NYPD scratched around for leads for six months before their first contact with Lewis on Thursday. 

The news that he had been arrested came as a shock to the Vetrano family who said it was 'too early' to say how they felt on Sunday. 

'We hoped to get to this point one day. 

'We didn't know if or when it would happen. 

'We can't even really respond to how we feel, we don't know yet,' Mr Vetrano, who was supposed to have joined his daughter running on the night she died, said.

The couple commended the 'magnificent' NYPD which they said had worked 'tirelessly' to solve their daughter's murder and also gave themselves credit for keeping the case in the public eye. 

'We would stop at nothing to find the savage that did this to her. The demon must get his justice and we will see to it,' Mrs Vetrano said.

Police sources revealed on Monday that the 20-year-old who they said had a 'deep seated' anger towards women.

Lewis's father, retired elementary school principal Richard Lewis, however said his 'humble' son couldn't have been involved with such a violent crime.

'Chanel would never have gone to do what they say he has done. He hasn't had a fight in his 20 years,' he told The New York Post.

Mr Lewis rushed to the 107th Precinct in Queens on Sunday where press had gathered after his son's Saturday night arrest.

'He's a wonderful kid': The suspect's father, retired principal Richard Lewis, was shocked by the charges against him

There, he told proudly how Chanel was an honor roll student at Martin De Porres High School in Far Rockaway, Queens, and said he had been the victim of muggings. 

The suspect's father said that while he was sorry for Vetrano's death, he believes his child is innocent.

In a plea to the jogger's parents, he said: 'I'm sorry to hear about [your daughter], but I'm sure that [Chanel] would not be a part of that. 

Theresa Forbes, his half-sister, said she believed he was being framed because he was black. 

'I think the cops framed him because he’s a black person. They couldn’t find anyone else to pin this on, so they pinned it on my brother. 

'My family, we are God-fearing people. The Bible tells us ‘Do no kill’—we do not kill,' she told The New York Post, adding that officers 'coerced' her brother into confessing. 

Lewis was led out of the 107th precinct on Sunday afternoon after his arrest was announced at a press conference 

Lewis was reported acting suspiciously at the park in May, two months before Vetrano's death, by one of her neighbors. He is seen above being taken out of the precinct on Sunday 

The 20-year-old has no prior criminal record but has three court summonses for acting suspiciously 

NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said on Sunday (left) that Lewis did not know Vetrano and it was a 'chance encounter' 

Lewis has no previous criminal record but has three court summonses for suspicious behavior in a bicycle track at Spring Creek Park. Chief Bryce would not disclose what the previous 'issues' were for. 

In May, a resident in Howard Beach, Queens, called 911 to report him acting suspiciously near Spring Creek Park where the jogger died.

Detectives investigating Vetrano's death found a record of the call as they purged through hundreds of reports and similar phone-ins while trying to make headway in the case.

They were able to build a profile from the call which led them to Lewis.  

'We found a 911 call prior to the homicide of him being in Howard Beach.

'We had a member of community call to say he was a suspicious person which we get all the time.

'From that we had a profile. He does have a number of summonses, he has no criminal record,' he said. It's not clear what was done about the call at the time.  

Vetrano was seen on surveillance footage jogging towards the park at 5.46pm, moments before her death

Lewis was arrested at the home he shares with his mother in East New York on Saturday night. It is less than four miles from the park where Vetrano was found 

The suspect was reported to police previously for acting suspiciously in a bicycle track in Spring Creek Park, where the 30-year-old was murdered 

They visited his mother's house in East New York on Thursday to take a cheek swab , which the 20-year-old agreed to, and two days later marched it to DNA found on Vetrano at the scene. 

The traces were found beneath her fingernails, signs she tried to fight him off before her death, NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Bryce said at a press conference on Sunday.

A hand print left on her back also matched him as did DNA found on her cell phone.  Detectives were still searching his home on Sunday. 

'Karina helped us identify is person, she had the DNA under her nails, touch DNA on her back and she had DNA on her cell phone.'  

Phil Vetrano, Vetrano's father (pictured with her), said he knew something was 'wrong' instinctively just 25 minutes after his daughter left their home to go running on August 2

Karina's  parents Cathy and Phil maintained an active public profile during the investigation 

Since being taken into custody, Lewis has described the attack in detail, Chief Boyce said.

'He gave very detailed, incriminating statements. We don't believe he knew her at all. 

'It appears to be a chance encounter. I don't think there was any stalking,' he said, adding the suspect's had described 'each step of the assault'. 

They could not confirm whether familial DNA testing, which the Vetrano family had pushed for, played any role in the investigation. Mr Vetrano, the jogger's father, was due to go running with her on the night she died but didn't because of an injury.

He and his wife are campaigning for familial DNA testing, which examines the DNA of potential suspects' family members to rule them in or out of crimes, to become commonplace.  It's not clear whether it played a part in Lewis's arrest.