Fashion student Annabel Richter, 19, died after being drugged and raped in New York dorm

Moises Freire, 19, has been charged with distributing fentanyl disguised as cocaine with intent to rape. Richter fell into a coma and died three days later.

Nude images sent to friends during 45-minute delay before calling for help, prosecutors say

A 19-year-old fashion student from Brazil died after being drugged and raped in her dormitory room in New York, according to federal prosecutors — and the man now charged with the attack spent 45 minutes texting nude photographs of his victims to friends before contacting campus security, The Sun reports.

Annabel Richter was studying at the Fashion Institute of Technology when she collapsed into a coma following the alleged attack on 18 March. She died in hospital three days later.

Moises Freire, 19, from the Bronx, was not a student at the college. Federal prosecutors say he tricked Richter and her roommate into consuming fentanyl by presenting it as pure cocaine from Mexico. Both women lost consciousness almost immediately inside the dorm room. Freire then allegedly raped Richter while she was incapacitated.

Newly unsealed court documents state that during the 45 minutes before Freire contacted campus security, he sent images to acquaintances — including a photograph of Richter naked from the waist down. When he did eventually call for security, prosecutors say he lied, claiming both women had simply drunk too much alcohol.

He further told security, according to prosecutors, that he had not realised Richter had lost consciousness until after he had finished having sex with her.

Prosecutor Ariana Bloom challenged that account at a hearing in April. "It is truly hard to believe that the defendant, who seemed entirely coherent and sober at the time, who didn't have any of the substance, who is captured on the security guard's body-worn camera seeming coherent and sober, didn't know what was going on when he was having sex with the victim who was completely unconscious," Bloom said.

Emergency services administered Narcan to both women before rushing them to hospital. Richter's roommate survived but has since withdrawn from the college and has not been publicly identified.

Freire has now been charged with distributing fentanyl disguised as cocaine with the intent to commit rape. A second defendant, Brian Peralta Cabrera, 18, of Queens, faces charges of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance resulting in death and serious bodily injury, after allegedly helping supply the drugs. Court documents allege Freire told Cabrera he wanted substances that "would last the entire night."

Both men were initially arrested in March and pleaded not guilty to earlier charges that did not include the rape allegation against Freire. He is due back in court on 28 October for arraignment on the upgraded charge. He is being held without bail ahead of a trial scheduled for March 2027.

Freire's attorney, Mitchell Schwartz, has previously described Richter's death as a tragedy but disputed the allegation that his client deliberately drugged the women. He characterised the events as "a story of teenagers doing what I would call 'dumb teenager things,'" and told the court that Freire and Richter had a consensual sexual relationship in the year before her death.

New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the defendants' alleged conduct was "truly unconscionable." "As alleged in the indictment, the two defendants supplied the fentanyl that killed one young woman and nearly killed another," Tisch said. "Rather than immediately seek help, Freire allegedly first raped the incapacitated victim who died and then lied to first responders. These actions are as sick and twisted as they come."

Richter's mother, Flavia Rocha, paid tribute to her daughter in a statement to The New York Post. "Annabel was full of life," Rocha said. "She knew loads about music and art and had a contagious laughter. Her presence filled the room. For us, her family and her friends, she was and always will be, our beloved Bel."

Her parents flew to New York upon hearing the news but, according to a fellow student speaking to the Daily Mail, never had the opportunity to say goodbye to their daughter before she died.

Source: The Sun