NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A married couple pleaded guilty to attempted murder for stabbing and battering their neighbor during a 2023 confrontation over a parking space, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Wednesday.
According to the indictment, at approximately 3:40 p.m. on March 17, 2023, Arturo Cuevas, 32, and Daisy Barrera, 28, were present when Wilson Chabla Lliguicota, 28, arrived at his residence and parked his car.
Cuevas and Barrera lived around the block from the victim and had a dispute with him over a parking space 11 months prior, officials said.
The couple – armed with weapons – approached Lliguicota’s car and began to attack him. Cuevas repeatedly stabbed the victim with a folding knife and Barrera used a metal baseball bat to hit the victim in the head multiple times, according to the investigation.
After the couple knocked Lliguicota to the ground, the attack continued, with Cuevas stomping on the victim’s prone body several times and Barrera hitting the victim in his head with the bat, authorities said.
The victim’s girlfriend, 22-year-old Delia Chimbay, saw her partner in distress from their apartment window and came outside to intervene. Barrera hit the woman in the arm with the bat and resumed her attack on Lliguicota with Cuevas.
The altercation ended when police arrived at the scene and Cuevas and Barrera retreated into their apartment. The couple was arrested after a 20-minute stand-off.
Both victims required medical treatment for their injuries. Lliguicota required surgery for severe brain trauma, removal of part of his skull and the inducement of a medical coma to manage his extended care and rehabilitation needs.
Cuevas and Barrera face 14 years in prison and are scheduled to return to court on Jan. 22 for sentencing.
"A 28-year-old man was senselessly stabbed with a knife and beaten with a metal baseball bat by the defendants over a parking dispute. Video of the attack, which was captured by a neighbor, shocked the city," D.A. Katz said:. "On the eve of trial, defendants Arturo Cuevas and Daisy Barrera pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Wilson Chabla Lliguicota. Our thoughts are with Mr. Lliguicota and his family as he continues to recover from the injuries he sustained."