Justin Waller charged in Hell's Kitchen stabbing

The thug suspected of viciously stabbing his boyfriend to death in Hell's Kitchen was slapped with a murder rap Tuesday night, officials said.

Shortly before Justin Waller, 31, was arraigned, NYPD detectives led him out of the Midtown North Precinct station house in handcuffs.

Waller's beard was scruffy and his stare blank as the detectives stuffed him into an unmarked car and whisked him off to face a second-degree murder charge in the gruesome death of affable event planner John Lea, 41.

For Waller, Manhattan Criminal Court was a long way from the Green Mountains of southern Vermont, where he was nabbed last Friday after detectives followed purchases he had made with Lea's credit card.

Shockingly, the boneheaded accused killer used Lea's plastic to hire a pricey car service to shuttle him off to his hideaway in Manchester, Vt., where he had once lived, police said.

Lea, who worked for the New York Society of Security Analysts, was found slain in his W. 46th St. flat last Thursday afternoon, police said.

He was discovered lying beside his bed, his body covered in bedding, with a bloody knife at his side. His throat was cut and his body had numerous stab wounds, several of which indicated he had fought for his life.

Lea met Waller a few months ago at a Manhattan gym and the two became a romantic item. Lea's neighbors and friends said the murdered event planner was a giving person who allowed the down-on-his-luck drifter to stay at his place after the romance soured.

Waller admitted to cops he stabbed Lea numerous times inside the apartment Wednesday and then fled, leaving him to die, Det. Joseph Monahan testified, according to a criminal complaint.

A neighbor told the Daily News he saw Waller waiting outside the building with luggage Wednesday.

When Waller arrived in Vermont, he laid low at a friend's pad. He used Lea's credit card a second time, purchasing items at a local grocery store - and essentially leading detectives right to his hideout.

Waller was held without bail and is due back in court Friday. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.