BRONX, NY — A Mount Vernon man is accused of fatally shooting his niece in the Bronx earlier this week in what police believe was a dispute tied to a family home inheritance. Michael Foster, 58, was arrested Wednesday evening and charged with murder, manslaughter and 10 counts of criminal possession of a weapon.
Police say Julia Anderson, 39, was shot twice in the chest shortly after midnight Tuesday while seated in her Jeep Grand Cherokee on Murdock Avenue in Wakefield. Investigators say the case appears to stem from a longstanding family conflict over who would inherit the home.
What happened on Murdock Avenue in Wakefield?
Authorities say Anderson had just finished her shift before the shooting. She was parked across the street from the group home where she worked when she was attacked, according to investigators.
The shooting took place in the early hours of Tuesday in the Wakefield section of the Bronx, and the victim was pronounced dead after being shot twice in the chest. Police have not described any other suspects.
Who was Julia Anderson?
Anderson had worked for 17 years at a nonprofit that provides care for developmentally disabled adults, according to the organization’s chief executive, Omayra Andino. Andino said Anderson was deeply committed to the work and had been considered for a promotion at one point, but declined because she loved her job.
Anderson had just ended a late shift, and loved ones said she was one month away from turning 40. Andino said the news of her death and the arrest of her uncle left staff devastated.
Why do investigators believe the shooting happened?
Detectives believe the motive was a family dispute over the inheritance of a home in Mount Vernon. Records list the property owner as Icilda Foster, who died in 2023, and investigators say the suspect was angry that his mother left the house to her oldest grandchild.
Police also searched the Mount Vernon home linked to the family, which is the same two-family house where Anderson lived. The crime scene unit spent hours collecting evidence there.
What happens next in the case?
Foster said nothing as detectives walked him out of the 47th Precinct, according to the report. He remains charged with murder, manslaughter and multiple weapons offenses as the investigation continues.
Officials have not announced any additional arrests. The case remains focused on the sequence of events around the Wakefield shooting and the family property dispute investigators say may have led to it.
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