Family speaks out after man stabbed to death in apparent TikTok trend

TIMES SQUARE -- The family is speaking out after a man was stabbed to death near Times Square last week.

The 17-year-old suspect told detectives that he attacked his victim as part of a 'mess with crackheads' TikTok trend.

The sister of 39-year-old Leonides Baez said Baez was sleeping on a ledge when three teenage suspects attacked him.

The sister said Baez had been in New York City for about two and a half weeks when he was stabbed to death.

She said he was a free spirit who biked up and down the East Coast.

"He was just kind of someone who didn't want to be told what to do. Just wanted to live the free life. He was a loving person. Great man, he had so much life ahead of him," she said.

Investigators say that the attack happened on West 43rd Street at 11:30 p.m. last Monday, just steps from the entrance to the Stephen Sondheim Theatre.

His family said they saw surveillance video of the killing, which started with the group waking him up and throwing urine at him.

One teen is in custody, who is believed to be the stabber, and two others have not been found.

The Manhattan District Attorney's Office said the 17-year-old will be charged as an adult with murder.

The DA's office said just one day before he allegedly killed Baez, the teen allegedly slashed a newsstand employee in Midtown.

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