Eyewitness News reporter Jeff Rossen has the story.
The murder happened in broad daylight. And as soon as police got to the scene, they knew they wanted to question the woman's boyfriend. But little did they know, he was about to surprise them.
Even as the woman lay dead in the street, slashed across her throat, her infant son was just feet away, still strapped into his car seat.
The killer had no mercy in what investigators are calling a crime of passion. And the suspect might have gotten away with it, but police sources say he called 911 himself and explained what he did. It was a bizarre confession from an angry boyfriend, sources say. He is now in custody in Jamaica Hospital. He is hospitalized because after the confession, police say he swallowed rat poison.
"That's kind of crazy, you know, to have a baby in the backseat," neighbor Lavar Bates said. "The violence is getting crazy now."
Police say the victim and her boyfriend had a volatile relationship. She recently filed an assault complaint against him, and neighbors knew there were problems.
"He was trying to get into the apartment, pushing his way in, so she took a cup and hit him in the head with it," neighbor Arvon Furguson said.
"That's terrible, man," neighbor Kyle Bell said. "What kind of boyfriend is that, with the baby in the backseat? You know how awful that is? That's sad."
At the scene, police found the knife that they believe is the murder weapon. But the motive remains unclear. If it was the boyfriend, what made him snap? What made him kill this young mother in front of her baby boy?
NYPD sources say the boyfriend is being questioned at his hospital bedside. He is not charged yet, but authorities expect those charges will be coming soon.
