11-year-old Brooklyn stabbing victim recalls horror, death of her friend
DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN, New York (WABC) -- A little girl who was stabbed in a Brooklyn housing project took the witness stand Tuesday to face the man accused of attacking her and killing her friend.
It happened at the Boulevard Houses in East New York in June of 2014, when Mikayla Capers was just 7 years old.
She's 11 now, and she testified Tuesday against Daniel St. Hubert, who allegedly cornered her and 6-year-old P.J. Avitto in an elevator.
"Justice will prevail," her great grandmother, Regenia Trevathan, said. "Mikayla wants closure."
Capers described how she and Avitto were playing at the Boulevard Houses on that hot June day. They were going inside to get ices when she said they encountered "a mystery man," who she identified as St. Hubert.
Mikayla said when the three were in the elevator, "He told me to shut up." Asked what happened next, she said, "He started repeatedly stabbing us."
She said she was stabbed 18 times and P. J. 17 times. She tried to escape, and turned to look at P.J.
"His eyes were wide open, and there was a bunch of blood on the floor," she said.
She knew her friend was dead.
"That child, the nightmares," Trevathan said. "Waking up and screaming about the bad man. Now she confronts the bad man."
During cross examination, defense attorney Howard Greenberg asked Mikayla, "Did you learn of him (St. Hubert) from watching the news?"
"Yes," she said.
Greenberg asked, "From the news, did you recognize him?"
"Yes," she said.
Later, Greenberg told reporters, "Her reality came from television. She said, 'That's on TV, it must be true.' So she adopted her version of who did it."
Back on cross examination, Greenberg questioned her about knowing the difference between telling the truth and telling a lie. Greenberg asked, "Do you tell lies?"
Mikayla responded, "Yes."
Greenberg: "When do you tell lies?"
Mikayla said, "I only tell white lies."
Greenberg told reporters, "I'm not giving her a hard time at all. She repeatedly cannot remember."
Mikayla finished what appeared to be an exhausting day of testimony.
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