Funeral held for Brooklyn stabbing victim; Suspect arraigned
EAST NEW YORK, N.Y. (WABC) -- An emotional scene played out at a church in Brooklyn Friday morning, as the 6-year-old victim in the East New York stabbing was laid to rest.
A small casket carried the body of young Prince Joshua Avitto, who was brutally murdered inside an elevator in the Boulevard Housing Complex last Sunday, his 7-year-old best friend Mikayla Capers left in critical injured in the attack. It was announced at the funeral that the young girl left the intensive care unit earlier in the day.
Meanwhile, the man accused of killing him, 27-year-old Daniel St. Hubert, appeared in court to be arraigned on a murder charge. Police are also investigating his connection to other stabbings across New York City, including one a few blocks away last Friday that left 18-year-old Tanaya Grant Copeland dead and another on a subway platform in Chelsea Wednesday morning.
It seemed that, for a time, the entire community stopped to hunt down the suspect. Friday, perhaps, offers a little closure for the family and friends who gathered to say goodbye to PJ Avitto.
Dad Nicholas Avitto, without notes, briefly addressed the mourners.
"My greatest joy and pleasure was my son," he said. "He was my baby and my backbone. I will be strong still for my baby...I thank the community for coming together and for the detective work of the NYPD and the arrest of the individual that killed my son."
In attendance were the first grade faculty at PJ's school, as well as Mayor Bill de Blasio and his wife, Chirlane McCrary. Officers and officials from the 75th Police Precinct were also at the church and were roundly and warmly applauded when introduced. Chicago Bulls player Taj Gibson, who is PJ's cousin, also attended, as did Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau.
"A curious young man with a lot of energy, that's how we want to remember him today," Minister Rev. David Brawley said. "I am mad, but I'm equally sad. His life was ended far too soon...We will never get over what happened to Prince Joshua, but we will get through it."
The church was completely filled, with some sitting on chairs in the aisles. There were many floral arrangements, prominent among them was one in the shape of a Superman shield, as PJ loved superheroes.
There were multiple monitors, with pictures of the boy in a continuous slideshow.
As for the investigation, detectives are looking at every unsolved stabbing that occurred in the 13 days after St. Hubert was released from prison to determine if he is linked to any of them. They will also take a look at still-unsolved stabbings that occurred before he was jailed in 2009.
In the Chelsea subway stabbing, St. Hubert was captured on nearby surveillance camera, and his MetroCard shows he entered the station just before the incident.
In Copeland's murder, there is physical evidence consistent with him, but the forensics are still pending. The very poor quality surveillance video they have recovered from that attack seems to show the suspect inflicting injuries similar to those in the Chelsea and elevator attacks.
One condition of St. Hubert's release from prison was that he report to his parole officer, who he saw her three times since his release on May 23. He was summoned to return to the parole office three days after the elevator attack, with officers waiting for him, but he did not show.
Sometime between noon and 1 p.m. Wednesday, the city's office of the Chief Medical Examiner matched DNA from the knife used in the elevator stabbings to St. Hubert through a state database. Police quickly got his cellphone number from a tipster tracked him to his mother's home in Jamaica, Queens, where he was taken into custody.
At his first appearance in court Thursday night, he appeared to subtly shake his head no as the prosecutor described the bloody elevator attack.
On Friday, St. Hubert was arraigned on second-degree murder and other charges.
"This defendant is accused of viciously attacking innocent and defenseless children who were trapped in an elevator with him," Kings County District Attorney Kenneth P. Thompson said. "Prince Joshua Avitto was taken far before his timem and his family will struggle with this for years to come, as will 7-year-old Mikayla Capers. We are committed to seeking justice for them and to holding this defendant accountable for his actions."
