Ex-boyfriend suspected of stabbing woman in Washington Heights: NYPD
WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, Manhattan (PIX11) -- Family members of Shirley Rodriguez say she was on her way to work when she was stabbed.
Sources close to the investigation are telling PIX11 News that the suspect, her ex-boyfriend, waited for her outside of the building where she lived and killed her.
Hours later, the superintendent washed the blood off the sidewalk where Rodriguez was killed on Monday morning. And neighbors told PIX11 they cannot stop thinking about the screams they heard from the 29-year-old woman as she was being stabbed multiple times.
"I have been thinking about it all day, how someone can take it to that level?" asked Peter, a neighbor.
A man who lives across from the building at 134 Haven Avenue described how he heard Rodriguez imploring for help.
He said he came down from his apartment and saw the attacker dragging and stabbing Rodriguez at the same time. Then, the perpetrator then ran away leaving her agonizing, he said. Authorities said Rodriguez was taken to Harlem hospital. But it was too late.
“It has to be someone that is not ok in the head to respond like that," Valerie Reyes said.
According to police, the violence started around 5:35 a.m. and the suspect is a man believed to be her ex-boyfriend.
“Unfortunately, this is very common. The only way to prevent it is to start looking at the red flags. He has a history of physical verbal violence, and he is a controlling guy," said Maria Camilo, intimate partner violence specialist.
Police had not made any arrests Monday. Sources told PIX11 News that the man believed to be the killer ran-off towards nearby Fort Washington Park.
A neighbor told PIX11 News that when she was leaving to work, she saw a man wearing all black hiding behind a vehicle minutes before Rodriguez was killed.