Prosecutors allege that Freire sexually assaulted Richter while she was unconscious.
Richter’s family is mourning the 21-year-old, whom her mother, Flavia Rocha, described as a vibrant young woman with a love of music and art. Freire is being held without bail while awaiting trial, which is scheduled for March 2027. He is due back in court on October 28 to be arraigned on upgraded charges, including distributing a controlled substance with the intent to commit rape, alongside other narcotics offences. If convicted, he faces a minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and could receive a life sentence. Brian Peralta Cabrera, 18, of Queens, was separately charged with narcotics conspiracy over allegations that he helped Freire obtain the fentanyl.
“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. Rocha said she hoped her daughter’s case would draw attention to violence against women and help ensure justice for victims. Campus security found both women suffering from acute fentanyl intoxication, prosecutors said. Lawyers representing the three men did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to the report.
“I don’t want to think of a world in which crimes against women would be too many to count. Bel and I would often discuss how women who suffered violence would rarely have a voice. I hope that Annabel’s story brings awareness, and meets justice. Two other men have also been linked to the case. Harry Rosales Pino has pleaded guilty to distributing narcotics resulting in death.
Emergency responders administered Narcan, a medicine used to reverse opioid overdoses, before the women were taken to hospital.
A 19-year-old New York man accused of giving fentanyl disguised as cocaine to two women in a college dormitory allegedly waited around 45 minutes before seeking help, while sending pictures of the unconscious victims to his friends, according to court documents. Moises Freire, who was not a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), allegedly gave the drug to student Annabel Richter and her roommate at their dormitory in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighbourhood on the night of March 18. Richter never regained consciousness and died on March 21, according to the indictment cited by the Manhattan US Attorney’s Office.
Because they had consumed too much alcohol, freire allegedly told campus security that the women had passed out. Both women lost consciousness and were taken to hospital.
Freire had told the women he was bringing them cocaine from Mexico, according to prosecutors. Court papers reportedly say he had tried fentanyl a week earlier and described it as “poison” in a message to a friend. Freire’s lawyer previously told the court that he had been in a consensual “sexual relationship” with Richter during the year before her death.
Prosecutors allege that Freire sexually assaulted Richter while she was unconscious. During the delay before contacting campus security, he allegedly sent photographs of the women to friends. One photograph reportedly showed Richter naked below the waist. Prosecutors also allege that he claimed he had not realised Richter was unconscious until after he had finished having sex with her. At an April court hearing, prosecutor Ariana Bloom questioned that account. The allegation of rape and the other charges against Freire remain matters for the courts to determine. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.
“Annabel was full of life,” Rocha told The Post. “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.”