Suspect who stabbed 75-year-old woman in Bronx elevator was out on parole, police say
FORDHAM, The Bronx (WABC) -- A man who was arrested in the unprovoked stabbing of a 75-year-old woman in a Bronx elevator was out on parole at the time of the crime.
Edwin Rios, 38, allegedly followed his victim into the elevator of her apartment building at 2066 Morris Ave. on Sunday morning and repeatedly stabbed her in the hands and head.
The attack appeared to be completely random.
The victim, Zenona Ramos, said she got off the elevator covered in blood went down the hall to bang on doors for help before a neighbor called 911.
Exclusive video obtained by Eyewitness News showed the suspect casually exit the building and walk down the street after the violent attack.
Ramos is stable at St. Barnabas and is expected to survive. But her face and hands are now covered in stab wounds and she needed 40 stitches in one hand to close the cuts.
At one point she said she begged the suspect to let her live because she has a family. The great-grandmother is recovering but remains terrified after the attack.
"As I got in, without saying a word, he started punching and stabbing me, I was trapped in the elevator, I have diabetes, was operated on, he opened up all my wounds, he cut me," she said.
The victim's daughter shared what Rios said to her mother before he stopped and left.
"After he finished beating her up, he stated take care and left," said Mirian Ramos Garcia. "The devil, that's the only way I can describe him...a devil."
This is not the first time Rios has been connected to a violent crime.
Rios was first charged with attempted murder when he followed a 22-year-old woman off a bus in Queens on Oct 31. 2012 and stabbed her twice in the back.
He was released on parole last August. His parole was set to expire in June.
Ramos Garcia is furious about what happened to her mother.
"I think the system failed, he did this before, why did they let him out -- that's my question," Ramos Garcia said.
Rios has been charged with attempted murder in the Bronx attack.
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