A Mount Vernon man who allegedly killed his niece over ownership of their family home has pleaded not guilty to murder, manslaughter and weapon charges.
Michael Foster, 58, said "absolutely not guilty" when the clerk asked him how he was pleading Wednesday, Sept. 9, at his arraignment in Bronx Superior Court.
Foster is accused of fatally shooting Julia Anderson in the torso as she approached her Jeep SUV at the corner of Murdock and Nereid avenues late on July 13. She had just left the group home where she worked for The Institutes of Applied Human Dynamics, a Tarrytown-based support agency for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Foster was arrested two days later. When New York City police searched the family's Bell Avenue
home less than a block from the Bronx border two days later they recovered multiple guns, including an assault rifle, two semi-automatic pistols and a revolver. Although the home is in Mount Vernon, because it is within 500 yards of the Bronx the gun charges can be brought there and don't have to be brought in Westchester County.
Foster is charged with second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, second- and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a firearm.
A deed filed last year with the Westchester County clerk's office lists Anderson, her mother and Foster as the owners of the home following the deaths of Anderson's grandparents who were the longtime owners.
But Anderson was arrested last year after it was alleged she had forged the names of her uncle and mother on the deed - even though they were already on an existing deed adjustment from 2017 after the grandfather's death.
The charges were eventually dismissed and Anderson sued the county, a prosecutor and two investigators from the DA's Office for malicious prosecution.
As a result of Anderson's death, the lawsuit was closed although it could be reopened if someone representing her estate seeks to do so within 90 days.
Authorities have not detailed what they believe the issue was about the house that led Foster to shoot Anderson.
Relatives and friends who attended the arraignment declined to comment.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Not guilty plea by Mount Vernon man in Bronx killing of his niece
