By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-19 13:50:41 | Updated at 2024-11-23 14:46:55
4 days ago
The third victim of a madman who went on a sickening stabbing spree across Manhattan on Monday has died.
Wilma Augustin, 36, the third and final victim of homeless man Ramon Rivera, 51, died from her injuries in hospital on Monday, according to cops.
Rivera, who was just recently released from Rikers Island, has since confessed to the unprovoked attacks according to sources who spoke The New York Post.
The attacks started just after 8:20am on Monday, when Angel Lata Landi was stabbed in the abdomen while standing in front of a construction site in Chelsea.
Two hours later, an unnamed Asian man, 68, who was fishing in the East River was stabbed 'multiple times in the body'.
Rivera was arrested soon after the stabbing of Augustin on East 42nd Street and First Avenue in the Murray Hill area of the city.
Officers managed to catch up with Rivera after a taxi driver saw Augustin being attacked and called police after believing he was witnessing a robbery, according to police.
ABC7 reported that the unknown driver gave chase up First Avenue and called out to pedestrians to help.
Rivera is seen here after being perp walked out of the 10th precinct on Monday night following his arrest for the three stabbings
Rivera is seen here putting on a hoodie, a skullcap and gloves before concealing a large in his shirt
Officers managed to catch up with Rivera after a taxi driver saw Augustin being attacked and called police after believing he was witnessing a robbery
Witness Baha Biten told the outlet: 'I'm walking with him, I'm saying "drop it man, it's not worth it". I told him "drop the bag, there's going to be cops up ahead".'
Surveillance footage also showed him putting on a hoodie, a skullcap and gloves before pulling a large kitchen knife from his backpack and concealing it in his shirt.
On Monday night Rivera was led out of Manhattan's 10th Precinct in a white jumpsuit while wearing handcuffs and shackles.
Rivera was arrested soon after the stabbing of Augustin on East 42nd Street and First Avenue in the Murray Hill area of the city
Rivera was released from Rikers Island in October after being arrested on charges of burglary in the third-degree and assault in the third-degree in February, PIX 11 reports.
Police accused him of being responsible for a pattern of burglaries involving smoke shops and bodegas throughout Manhattan, dating back to December 2023.
Rivera ultimately pleaded guilty to the charges in August and was sentenced to nearly a year in prison, but was let out after eight months of time served.
But the day he was released, Rivera was arrested again on grand larceny charges, with prosecutors saying he stole a nearly $1,500 acrylic bowl from a Jonathan Adler shop in Tribeca in December 2023.
Manhattan prosecutors pushed for bail, but a judge ordered him released under supervision.
The release perplexed New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who said police will look into how a career criminal with a history of mental illness was allowed to walk free.
'We are still looking over his record, but there's a real question on why he was on the street,' the mayor said Monday, after he was once again arrested for his murderous stabbing spree.
Rivera was arrested after the stabbing of Augustin on East 42nd Street and First Avenue in the Murray Hill area of the city. The aftermath of that incident is seen here
A bloody knife recovered at the scene lies on pavement after Rivera was arrested on Monday
In total, Rivera has had at least eight other arrests in the Big Apple and a history of mental health issues.
He spent several days in May in the psych ward of Bellevue Hospital, where cops said he assaulted a corrections officer.
Rivera also had two other mental health incidents between November and December 2023.
Police in Union City, New Jersey, arrested him in January as a fugitive from justice and a suspect in a theft. Hoboken police also took him in on two counts of criminal mischief.
His criminal career extends outside the New York City metropolitan area, with a 2017 arrest in Cleveland, Ohio for assault, and arrests in Florida going back to 2003.
Rivera has had at least eight other arrests in the Big Apple and a history of mental health issues
Those charges range from domestic violence battery to procuring prostitutes to even drunken driving, the Post reports.
Following the horrid attacks, Adams said: 'Our hearts go out to the families, goes out to other New Yorkers who observed such a terrible action. We will keep them in our prayers.
'Three New Yorkers. Unprovoked attacks that left us searching for answers on how something like this could happen.
'We are still looking over his record, but there's a real question on why he was out on the street,' Adams said of the suspect.
