The man who stabbed three people to death in Manhattan has confessed to targeting victims because they were “alone” and “distracted”. The details about Ramon Rivera’s rampage in New York City came shortly before he was produced before the Manhattan Criminal Court for his arraignment on three counts of first-degree murder, The New York Post reported.
Assistant District Attorney Megan Joy explained how the 51-year-old homeless man allegedly attacked three random people, without any provocation, on Monday morning, in the hours-long incident that stretched from West Side to East River.
Joy said Rivera embarked on a “bloody and violent rampage” killing three innocent New Yorkers “who were doing nothing but going about their day”.
When Judge Janet McDonnell sent him to jail without bail, Rivera did not protest against the order.
Sources told the New York Post this seeming indifference even appeared to be consistent through his actions right after the murders. After killing two men and a woman, Rivera spent hours sleeping in police custody. Once he got up, Rivera waived ‘Miranda rights’ and fully confessed while staying calm.
The rampage started with the stabbing of Angel Gustavo Lata-Landi, 36, a construction worker from upstate Peekskill. Lata-Landi was waiting to get picked up from work in Chelsea at around 8:20 AM (local time), according to police.
In the courtroom, Lata-Landi’s family sat in the gallery, with tears in their eyes during the hearing.
His sister, Vertha Land, said that Lata-Landi died working and the family just wanted justice. “The city should take responsibility for the disaster we’ve been left with,” she added.
After killing Lata-Landi, Rivera then trekked to the East River waterline and stabbed Chang Wang, 67, while he was busy fishing. This happened before 10:30 AM.
The third victim was Wilma Augustin, 36, who was stabbed to death near the United Nations building. This happened nearly half an hour later. She was taken to a nearby hospital, but the doctors declared her dead.
The single mother, a migrant from Haiti, was staying at the Americana Inn shelter with her son. “She was a very good lady,” a woman known to Augustin said.
As per the court papers, Rivera suffers from documented mental health problems and was taken into custody soon after Augustin’s stabbing. He was carrying two knives.