
NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A man accused of stabbing his wife and 2-year-old daughter to death before critically injuring himself on Saturday has been charged, police announced Monday.
Ernesto Cruz, 54, is charged with two counts of murder and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in connection to the deaths of his wife, 41-year-old Ana Pilatagsi-Moposita, and their toddler daughter, Analiz Cruz.
Police responded to the family’s Ridgewood home, located at 63-35 Forest Ave., just after 7 p.m. on Saturday. Police said that Cruz was on FaceTime with his nephew as he was stabbing his family with a kitchen knife, prompting the nephew to call 911.
Officers discovered Pilatagsi-Moposita with 18 stab wounds to the neck and chest, while her daughter was stabbed nine times, police said.
EMS transported the victims to local area hospitals in critical condition, but they could not be saved. Neighbors described it as a bloody scene as their bodies were removed from the home.
“It’s terrible, I mean, I’ve lived here already 47 years, and nothing like this, ever. So, you know, it’s sad to see,” neighbor Hilda Horn told 1010 WINS.
Tom, who lives next door, said that he never noticed anything wrong with his neighbors, even describing Cruz as upbeat.
“Honestly, the guy, he was nice,” he said. “Every day when I saw him, he said ‘hi, hi.’”
Cruz was also found in the home with a stab wound to the chest. Medics transported him to a local hospital in critical condition.