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July 8, 2020 By Christian Murray
A man has been charged for stabbing his girlfriend to death inside their Jackson Heights apartment–while the victim’s teenage daughter witnessed the horror.
Carmelo Mendoza, 41, of 34th Road, has been charged with murder in the second degree for killing his girlfriend Yaqueline Collado, 45, in front of the woman’s 19-year-old daughter in the early hours of July 3. Mendoza faces 25 years to life in prison.
The gruesome killing took place when Mendoza and Collado got involved in an argument. Collado told her daughter, who also lives in the apartment, to go to her room so she would not hear the dispute.
The victim’s daughter, however, heard her mother scream her name from the other room, according to the complaint. She then saw Mendoza stab her mother repeatedly in the chest, neck and torso.
The teenager tried to stop him by throwing items at him and pushing him off her mother.
Mendoza then fell to the floor but got back up and allegedly continued to stab Collado. The daughter then heard her mother say to her in is Spanish: “I’m dying, leave.”
The daughter whose leg was slashed while she tried to intervene ran out of the apartment and began banging on neighbors’ doors for help. She also called 911.
When police arrived, they found the defendant lying on top of Collado and observed the victim in a pool of blood with a kitchen knife nearby.
Collado was transported to a nearby hospital and was declared dead from 14 knife wounds. Mendoza also went to hospital where he was treated for self-inflicted injuries. He is in custody.
“The defendant in this case is accused of committing a despicable act of violence against a woman he supposedly loved,” according to District Attorney Melinda Katz. “[He] will be held accountable for his alleged brutal actions.”
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One Comment
Forget the 25 years to life and just make it life. In solitary. He should never get out of prison until they take his body out in a body bag. My heart goes out to her family and friends.