What to Know
- A 39-year-old Queens man has been sentenced in the stabbing death of his wife at the nail salon where she worked last summer
- It was a night in August; William Rivas got into an argument with his wife and was kicked out of the salon, but returned moments later and stabbed her repeatedly with a long knife
- Cops found him laying on top of the bloodied woman; the victim, a mother of two, died at a hospital
A Queens man who pleaded guilty to stabbing his estranged wife to death in a city nail salon as horrified patrons watched earlier this year has been sentenced to prison.
William Rivas, a 39-year-old from Corona, received a 25-year sentence Thursday for repeatedly stabbing 35-year-old Carmen Iris Santiago in the Tu S'tilo Salon Spa in Jackson Heights on Aug. 7, 2019. The mother of two was working at the salon and a number of people watched as the attack unfolded.
According to court documents, Rivas initially was kicked out of the salon after he showed up there and started to argue with Santiago. He barged back in moments later, pulling out a long knife and stabbing her in the chest.
Police responding to terrified 911 callers found Rivas laying on top of his bleeding wife. Santigo later died from her injuries at a hospital.
"This was a horrific act of domestic violence where the defendant in front of horrified onlookers, took out his anger against his wife at her place of business by mercilessly stabbing her to death," Acting Queens District Attorney John Ryan previously said in a statement. "The defendant admitted to this brutal crime today and he will spend decades locked behind bars as punishment for his actions."
