NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – A homeless man with a history of arrests and “severe” mental illness was charged with murder late Monday for killing three people in a “vicious” and unprovoked stabbing spree in Manhattan, police said.
Ramon Rivera, 51, faces three counts of first-degree murder for Monday morning’s deadly attacks across three neighborhoods in the borough.
Authorities allege Rivera used two kitchen knives to commit the rampage over the course of roughly 2 ½ hours. He was arraigned Tuesday. The Legal Aid Society, which is representing Rivera in court, declined to comment.
The victims included Angel Lata Landi, a 36-year-old construction worker from Peekskill who was repeatedly stabbed in the abdomen outside his work site on West 19th Street in Chelsea shortly before 8:30 a.m.
Two hours later, a 67-year-old man who was fishing along the East River at East 30th Street in Kips Bay was repeatedly stabbed in the abdomen. He was identified late Tuesday as Chang Wang, of the Bowery.
Both men were pronounced dead at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue.
The third and final victim was Wilma Augustin, 36, of Manhattan, who was attacked as she walked at East 42nd Street and First Avenue, across from the United Nations building, at 10:55 a.m. She died Monday night at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center.
Rivera was arrested after a cab driver who witnessed the attack on Augustin alerted a police officer, officials said.
Police said the attacks appeared to be unprovoked and random based on the evidence so far.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said Rivera “just walked up to them and began to attack them with knives.”
“No words exchanged, no property taken, just attacked and stabbed viciously,” Kenny said.
Rivera was “covered in blood” when he was arrested. Two large kitchen knives were also recovered, police said.
Rivera has at least eight prior arrests in New York, including for grand larceny in October, as well as arrests in New Jersey, Ohio and Florida.
Adams called it a “clear example of the criminal justice system and mental health system that continues to fail New Yorkers.”
“There’s a real question of why he was on the street,” the mayor said, adding Rivera had been “sentenced a few months ago.”
“He has some severe mental health issues that should have been examined,” the mayor said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.