Chris Jose reporting on the suspect in the deadly Manhattan stabbing spree being in custody.
A third person has died, this one a 36-year-old woman, after a man with a history of mental health issues allegedly went on an unprovoked stabbing spree in Manhattan a day ago, felling people just going about their morning routines.
Ramon Rivera, a 51-year-old who officials say records show has an extensive criminal history, has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the case, which rocked the five boroughs as it unfolded Monday.
Surveillance footage showed the suspect, later identified as Rivera, place a purple backpack on the sidewalk. He pulls out a hooded sweatshirt, puts it on and takes out some gloves. He readjusts his hat. Then come the knives.
Police said the first stabbing occurred at 8:22 a.m. on West 19th Street in Chelsea, when a 36-year-old man was knifed in the abdomen outside a construction site where the victim was working. He was pronounced dead at a hospital and later identified as Angel Lata Landi, of Peekskill.
About two hours later, officers responding to a 911 call of a man stabbed on East 30th Street found a 67-year-old with multiple stab wounds to the abdomen. He also died at a hospital. His identity has not been released.
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Just 30 minutes after that came the third attack, a woman stabbed near 42nd Street and First Avenue. The 36-year-old, Wilma Augustin, of Manhattan, initially was taken to a hospital in critical condition with stab wounds to her chest and left arm. She later died of her injuries.
Rivera was apprehended a few blocks from that scene. Police believe the suspect did not take public transit or a vehicle between the stabbing locations.
The suspect has "severe mental health issues" that need examination and there are questions about why he was out on the streets, Mayor Eric Adams said at a news conference Monday. The mayor said the mental health system continues to "fail New Yorkers."
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Rivera has been arrested eight times in New York City in the past year, including seven felonies and one misdemeanor, records show. He also has been arrested in Ohio and Florida.
He was released from Department of Corrections custody on Oct. 17 for time served on burglary and assault charges, according to city records. At the time of Monday's stabbings, Rivera was on bail in an open case of grand larceny, accused of taking property from a Manhattan store later on Oct. 17, the day of his release.
Rivera also was arrested three times in Hudson County, New Jersey in January and indicted by a grand jury all three times, according to the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office. The charges in those cases included criminal mischief, theft and burglary, according to the indictments.
A spokesperson for the prosecutor's office in Hudson County said he was released on pre-trial monitoring, based on the charges and related guidelines from the Criminal Justice Reform Act. Bench warrants were issued for his failure to appear post-indictment.
Information on a possible attorney for Rivera wasn't immediately available Tuesday.
