Nadia Vitels, the woman found dead in a duffel bag in her Manhattan apartment, has a diverse and varied career, from marketing a nonprofit to running tennis star Maria Sharapova's candy company Sugarupova. Although she had a successful career, this was probably her last job, and probably her last. What stuck with her most was working with her son in his company.
At his funeral on Long Island on March 18, Michael Medvedev praised his mother, including her move from Moscow to Stillwater, Oklahoma, when she was young, and her drive to provide the best for her mother. He also talked about his unwavering support.
“She then went on to work for several more companies in the tennis world and finished her wonderful career at home. I think working with me was the job she loved the most and the job she was most comfortable with. ” said Medvedev, 24.
“She believed in me. She moved the Sugarpois candy to the side to make room for the plant-based cups.”
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The city medical examiner announced Friday that an autopsy found that the victim, Nadia Vitels, died from blunt force trauma to the head and ruled her death a homicide.
Medvedev founded Earth Brands with his friend Peter Frelinghuysen in 2021 while still a student at Williams College. After noticing how many plastic cups were scattered around campus, they came up with a biodegradable and compostable alternative made from corn and sugar resin.
The following year, businessman and Shark Tank regular Mark Cuban became one of its first investors, according to the company's website.
CBS featured the company in 2021, filming at Vitels and Medvedev's Long Island home and speaking with the young entrepreneur and his proud mother, another investor.
In this department, Vitels helped Medvedev move cargo from the first shipment of 100,000 cups inside the garage, but it was not the first time the space was used for a business venture.
“I felt kind of capitulated by this. My initial thought was that it was a no-brainer,” Vitels told reporters with a smile.
The second shipment was for 500,000 cups, but Vitels said the segment would not keep it in a garage.
“I'm not coming here. That's natural,” she said, waving her hands.
Vitels, 52, was found by her son on March 14 in an apartment on East 31st Street near Third Avenue, where a family friend was preparing to move in. Medvedev discovered a leg sticking out of a bag in a hallway closet.
The city medical examiner ruled Vitels' cause of death as blunt force trauma to the head and ruled her death a homicide on March 15.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenney said Vitels was attacked by a pair of squatters, killed, dumped his belongings in the unit's trash chute, stole a Lexus and fled New York.
“We believe that some squatters took over the apartment and this woman went home to prepare the apartment and came in with the squatters,” Kenney said.
Two squatters wanted in Vitels' murder were arrested by U.S. Marshals in York, Pennsylvania, law enforcement officials said Friday. The duo, a 19-year-old man and an 18-year-old woman, have been on the run since Vitels' alleged murder, fleeing the scene in a Lexus she stole. Police have begun the process of extraditing the couple to New York to face murder charges.
