Prosecutors said Thursday that the suspected lunatic was on a mission to steal a kitchen knife. Then a series of random stabbings left three people dead and the streets of Manhattan covered in blood.
Serial stabber Ramon Rivera, 51, smashed the windows of the Ace Hardware store at East 18th Street and First Avenue near Stuytown on Nov. 18, jamming it with kitchen knives and construction gloves. Prosecutors said in court that he left with a stolen backpack.
Three hours later, on West 19th Street, Rivera allegedly attacked Angel Lata Lundy, 35, the first randomly selected victim of the vicious spree.
“[Rivera] “He stabbed three different people to death,” Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Megan Joy said in court, calling the attacks “totally unfounded.” “Those three were thinking about themselves.”
Rivera was charged with first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder at his arraignment in Manhattan Supreme Court. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Before his rampage, Rivera had been released from Rikers Island on Oct. 17 following recent robbery and assault convictions, but prosecutors say he drove to East 30th Street within two hours of the initial assault. said.
There, the maniac suspect followed Zhang Wang, 67, who was fishing at FDR Promenade, and stabbed him multiple times, prosecutors added.
He then used a knife to stab Wilna Augustine, 36, as she sat on a park bench and screamed for help, the prosecutor's office said.
Augustine died from his injuries at a hospital later that day.
Rivera's hours-long stabbing spree ended shortly after he stabbed his last victim, and prosecutors said Rivera made a “full confession” admitting to stabbing and killing the three people.
Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Felicia Menin remanded him at prosecutors' request, citing extensive out-of-state contacts and probation violations.
Legal Aid Society attorney Erin Darcy entered an insanity defense on Rivera's behalf Thursday as two family members sat quietly in court.
Rivera has a history of mental illness and violent crimes dating back decades.
As recently as May, he was detained in Bellevue Hospital's psychiatric ward, where sources say he assaulted a prison guard.
He had previously clashed with police over mental health incidents in November and December 2023.
Mr River has been arrested at least eight times in five boroughs.
Police and sources say he has numerous cases in other states, including a 2017 assault case in Ohio and a domestic violence case in Florida dating back to 2003 for drunken driving. This includes numerous arrests for charges ranging from procuring prostitutes.
