Authorities in New York have charged a 54-year-old man who allegedly stabbed his wife and their 2-year-old daughter while he was FaceTiming his nephew. Per ABC 7, the fatal incident occurred at the family’s Queens home on Saturday, July 19.
The suspect, identified as Ernesto Cruz, stabbed his wife, Ana Pilatagsi-Moposita, 18 times and their daughter, Analiz Cruz, nine times, according to reports. Cruz also sustained a critical injury after he later stabbed himself in the chest, and authorities said they are looking into the case as a murder-suicide attempt.
As Cruz was carrying out the crime, the nephew he was on FaceTime with called 911 to report what was happening, the New York Post reported. Police said Pilatagsi-Moposita, 41, and their daughter Analiz later died of their injuries in a hospital.
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Police also said that Cruz was admitted to the hospital and was in a stable condition as of Monday. He has since been charged with their killings.
“This isn’t normal you just don’t see gurneys and people filled with blood coming out of a building. That’s not normal. Not in this neighborhood,” a neighbor told ABC 7.
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Neighbors also said nothing indicated the couple had issues. They said the family was private, so they had little information about them. “I think we are all in shock. Maybe ask us in a few days but right now we’re all in much shock. It’s very sad,” a neighbor said.
But a different neighbor claimed that Pilatagsi-Moposita endured mental abuse from Cruz, and he had threatened to kill her on multiple occasions, the New York Post reported.
“He told her many times, ‘One day, I’m going to kill you.’ That means he was planning it,” the neighbor told the news outlet.
Though the motive behind the killings is yet to be determined, police said they suspect it was a domestic incident.
