A Time To Kill is examining the murder of Menachem Stark, a prominent Brooklyn landlord and member of the Satmar Hasidic community; he was murdered during a botched kidnapping organized by Erskine Felix, Kendel Felix, Kendall Felix, and Irvine Henry.
On the evening of January 2, 2014, Stark left his office in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, during an intense snowstorm. Surveillance footage would later show two men on the sidewalk attacking him. Stark refused to go quietly and battled the kidnappers for at least five minutes.
However, the kidnappers, cousins Erskine Felix and Kendel Felix, eventually got the upper hand shoved the 39-year-old property developer into the back of the van. Erskine Felix had performed work for Stark and claimed he was owed money for that work, so he hatched a plan with three of his cousins to hold their victim for a ransom.
Menachem Stark died during a botched kidnapping
Unfortunately, Stark died in the back of the minivan, probably of asphyxiation, when his mouth was tapped, and he was sat on by one of the kidnappers; the police believe the culprit was ringleader, Erskine Felix.
The men had not meant to kill Stark, but when they realized he was dead, they drove out to Great Neck, Long Island, and threw his remains into a dumpster, which they then set alight. Stark’s smoldering remains were discovered the following day.
In 2019, Erskine Felix was convicted of second-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping, along with some other offenses. The judge did acknowledge that he hadn’t intended to kill Stark, but he was still sentenced to 24 years to life. His cousins Kendel and Irvine Henry had testified against him.
Kendel Felix was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for his role. And Kendell Felix admitted to setting fire to Stark’s body and was given 2 to 7 years behind bars. Finally, Henry reportedly pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence and received three months in prison.
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A Time To Kill airs at 10/9c on Investigation Discovery.