DA Indicts Man Charged in Manhattan Stabbing Spree That Left Three Dead

A man that allegedly went on a bloody Nov. 18 stabbing rampage that killed three people throughout Manhattan has been indicted in connection with the high-profile crimes, prosecutors with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office said.

Ramon Rivera, a 51 year-old homeless man said to suffer from severe mental illness by his defense attorney, faces murder and burglary raps. He plead not guilty at an arraignment on Dec. 19. Prosecutors newly claim that Rivera obtained the two knives used in the killings via an early-morning break-in at a hardware store in Stuyvesant Town before stabbing victims in Chelsea, the East River near Tudor City and Kips Bay. He was finally nabbed just south of the United Nations by a federal agents and the NYPD as he was running from the scene where he attacked his final victim.

“As alleged, Ramon Rivera committed an unprovoked and violent series of stabbings across Manhattan, taking the lives of three New Yorkers who were going about their day,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said. “These fatal stabbings have shaken our city, and those who commit random acts of violence will face accountability. My heart goes out to the loved ones of those who were tragically and senselessly killed: Angel Lata Landi, Chang Wang, and Wilna Augustin.”

Gothamist reported that Erin Darcy of the Legal Aid Society, who is representing Rivera and entered a “not guilty” plea on his behalf, indicated at the arraignment that her defense would hinge on proving that Rivera is not mentally cogent; to that end, she said that she would present the results of a virtual psychological evaluation he underwent at Bellevue at an upcoming Jan. 16 hearing.

Prosecutors say that Rivera first broke into an ACE Hardware Store at 312 First Ave. in Stuyvesant Town by breaking a window, at around 5:10 a.m., on the morning of Nov. 18. He then allegedly left the store with the pilfered kitchen knifes and a pair of construction gloves.

At around 8:20 a.m., prosecutors say, Rivera then put on the gloves and a gray hooded sweatshirt near 444 W. 19th St. He then allegedly removed one of the stolen knives from a backpack and placed it in his sweatshirt pocket. Shortly after, he reportedly stabbed Angel Lata Landi–a 35 year-old construction worker from Peekskill, NY–twice in the torso in an unprovoked assault, before fleeing the scene on W. 19th St. in Chelsea. Landi was pronounced dead by 8:54 a.m., after being rushed to Bellevue Hospital.

By around 10:18 a.m., Rivera had made his way to 500 East 30th Street in Tudor City, prosecutors said. He allegedly came across 67 year-old Chang Wang, who was fishing along the East River, stabbing him multiple times before fleeing. A person running in the vicinity discovered Wang’s body, leading to his transportation to Bellevue. He was pronounced dead at 11:07 a.m.

Rivera approached East 42nd Street and First Avenue at around 10:52 a.m., prosecutors say, where he encountered his third and final victim: Wilna Augusta, 36, who was sitting on a park bench. He allegedly stabbed her multiple times, leading her to cry out for help, before running away. Augusta was transported to Weill Cornell Medical Center and fought valiantly for her life but less than six hours after the attack she was pronounced deceased at 5:47 p.m.

Prosecutors say that an eyewitness to Augusta’s murder reportedly followed Rivera and pointed him out to the police officer Robert Garvey and a federal agent, leading to his arrest at around E. 46th St. and First Avenue. Rivera had a prior history of eight arrests, and had been released from Rikers Island in October after serving 2/3 of a sentence for burglary. Legal documents show that he suffers from schizophrenia, the New York Times reported. After his arrest on Nov. 18, NYC Mayor Eric Adams said that he believed that the city’s mental health system is “broken.”

Neither Darcy nor the Legal Aid Society returned a request for comment by press time.