She was alone in the concrete jungle, far from home and pursuing her dreams.
Fashion Institute of Technology student Annabel Richter had moved thousands of miles away to New York City, determined to build a life on her own, according to a family friend. But prosecutors say her journey ended in tragedy when a predator allegedly drugged her and sexually assaulted her as she suffered a fatal fentanyl overdose.
Prosecutors allege that Moises Freire, 19, gave fentanyl to Richter, 21, and her roommate inside their Chelsea dorm room in March.
Both women lost consciousness and were taken to a hospital. Only Richter’s roommate survived.
“She struck me as very sweet and kind,” Christina Perez, a longtime friend of Richter’s grandmother, told The Post Friday. “She was very bright.”
Perez said Richter’s family was living in Sao Paulo, Brazil, while her grandmother was based in Washington state when Richter left for college.
“She wanted to go to New York,” Perez said. “The idea worried me a bit because she didn’t have anyone there — her family was still in Brazil.”
Richter’s grandmother, Virginia “Gini” Richter, has been devastated by the death and is “suffering a great deal,” Perez said.
Richter’s extended family traveled to the United States for her memorial service in Portland, Ore., Perez said.
“I can only imagine what it’s like for her parents. It’s a terrible situation. Very, very sad,” Perez said.
Richter’s mother, Flavia Rocha, a Brazilian poet and journalist, posted an emotional tribute to her daughter on Instagram days after her death.
“It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of our daughter Annabel, so dearly loved by all of us. Her light remains alive in our hearts. Forever,” Rocha wrote.
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Rocha also shared a poem Richter wrote at age 10, titled “What is Red?” The post included an angelic photograph of Richter wearing a light pink top.
“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,” Rocha, who was heartbroken, previously told The Post.
According to court documents unsealed Thursday, Freire allegedly told the women he was bringing cocaine from Mexico, despite having tried fentanyl a week earlier and describing it in a text to a friend as “poison.”
Freire, who was not an FIT student, allegedly gave both women the drug in their dorm room on March 18. It remains unclear how Richter and her roommate knew him.
Prosecutors say Freire then sexually assaulted Richter while she was unconscious and waited about 45 minutes before contacting campus security. First responders administered Narcan to both women before taking them to the hospital.
Freire also allegedly photographed Richter while she was unconscious and nude from the waist down, intending to share the images with friends.
Prosecutors further allege that he told campus security the women had passed out after drinking too much. He also reportedly claimed he did not realize Richter was unconscious until after he had finished having sex with her.
“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,” prosecutor Ariana Bloom said during an April court hearing.
Freire’s friend, Brian Peralta Cabrera, 18, of Queens, was separately hit with narcotics conspiracy charges for alleging helping Freire get the lethal fentanyl.
Freire and Peralta Cabrera were first arrested in March. They pleaded not guilty to an initial set of charges that did not include the rape allegation and remain in custody.
Freire is due back in court Oct. 28 to be arraigned on upgraded charges of distributing a controlled substance with the intent to commit rape, along with other narcotics charges. He faces a minimum of 20 years in prison, and a maximum of life if convicted.
A third man, Harry Rosales Pino, has pleaded guilty to narcotics distribution resulting in death.