Man charged with murder after fatal stabbing in New York City

A man has been charged with murdering three people across New York City, authorities said Tuesday.

The suspect, who officials said has “severe mental health issues,” was taken into custody Monday after he was found with blood on his clothing and armed with two kitchen knives. New York police later identified the suspect as Ramon Rivera, 51.

Court records show he pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder, which was classified as serial killing. He is being held without bail.

Two of the victims killed in the attacks were identified as Angel Lata Landi, 36, a construction worker from Peekskill, New York; and 36-year-old Wilma Augustin of Manhattan. Police said the third victim was a 67-year-old man but did not release his name because his family had not yet been notified of his death.

At a news conference Monday, Mayor Eric Adams said the knife attacks were “unprovoked attacks.”

“Today, three innocent New Yorkers go about their lives, victims of a terrible, terrible attack,” Adams said while flanked by police leaders.

According to the NYPD, crimes have increased by about 5% since around this time last year. But other violent crimes such as murder, burglary and grand theft have also declined, police data shows.

According to the FBI, violent crime nationwide fell by an estimated 3% from 2022 to 2023.

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3 dead in stabbing across Manhattan

The rampage, which took place across Manhattan for about two and a half hours, left police “searching for answers as to how something like this could happen,” Adams said.

The first attack was reported at 8:22 a.m. Monday on 19th Street, when police said Rivera stabbed Lata Landi multiple times in the stomach at a construction site.

The second attack was reported about two hours later at 10:25 a.m. on 30th Street. An unidentified 67-year-old man was fishing when he was also stabbed more than once in the stomach.

Both the man and Lata Landi were taken to the same hospital and soon died from their injuries.

At 10:55 a.m., Rivera is suspected of carrying out his final attack, this time on a woman at the intersection of 42nd Street and 1st Avenue at the United Nations headquarters. Augustin, who was stabbed in the chest and left arm, was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment but later died.

“He just walked up to her and started attacking her with the knives,” NYPD Chief Detective Joe Kenny said during the news conference. “No exchange of words. No property taken.”

A taxi driver who witnessed the third attack and believed it was a robbery followed the knife-wielding man and alerted police, Kenny said. When the man, now identified as Rivera, was taken into custody, police said he was wearing bloodstained clothing and was armed with knives.

When reached by USA TODAY on Tuesday, the Legal Aid Society, a New York-based nonprofit legal services provider representing Rivera, declined to comment on the case.

New York mayor: Suspect has “serious mental health problems”

While Adams said officers were still checking Rivera’s criminal history, he said there was “a real question as to why he was on the streets.”

Rivera, who police said appeared to be homeless, has eight arrests on his record and was most recently arrested in October for grand larceny. Adams also added that he has “serious mental health issues.”

“It is a clear example of a criminal justice system, a mental health system, that continues to fail New Yorkers,” Adams said.

(This story has been updated to add new information.)

Contributor: Minnah Arshad, USA TODAY

Eric Lagatta covers breaking and breaking news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New York City stabbing: Man charged with murder after attacks