Police: Man attempted to remove wife's head with knife in grisly Queens murder
SOUTH RICHMOND HILL, Queens (WABC) -- Prem Rampersaud said nothing as he was led out of the 106th Precinct in handcuffs. The 50-year-old is charged with a grisly murder -- sources tell Eyewitness News he attempted to decapitate his wife.
The victim was walking in the middle of 124th Street in South Richmond Hill, and had just gotten off work. Police said Rampersaud knew that, and was waiting for her. He said something that made her turn and walk away.
Surveillance then shows him walking towards her, and then grabbing her arm and pulling her back towards a fence. She fights back, but he overpowers her and drags her to the ground right by a tree.
Watch the exclusive surveillance video here:
The attack happened just after midnight, and people living in the neighborhood tell Eyewitness News they did not hear a thing.
For roughly four minutes, the suspect repeatedly stabbed the victim in the neck and torso. Witnesses tell police when Rampersaud confronted his wife, he slapped her, choked her, and attempted to remove her head with a knife. The woman's head remained partially attached.
Photos: Murder scene in Queens
During the attack, two people started walking towards the area. Shortly afterwards, the suspect took off running on 103rd Avenue. The two witnesses then came back to the scene and tried to help the victim, at one point using their flashlights to try to make sense of what unfolded in front of them.
By the time emergency crews arrived on the scene, it was too late. Paramedics tried to stabilize the victim, who was severely injured, but she was pronounced dead at the hospital.
One woman who did not want to be identified tells Eyewitness News that Rampersaud was staying at her house - she said she does not know him well, and a friend asked her to take him in for a few days.
The couple, from Guyana, was living apart.
