Suspected killer who went on NYC stabbing spree confessed he picked victims because they were ‘alone,’ ‘distracted’: sources
The madman accused of fatally stabbing three people in a random Manhattan rampage chillingly told cops he targeted his victims because they were “alone” and “distracted,” law-enforcement sources revealed Tuesday.
Details of the alleged sickening cold-blooded admission from Ramon Rivera, 51, surfaced shortly before he shuffled into Manhattan Criminal Court for his arraignment on three counts of first-degree murder.
The bearded, raggedy homeless man sat stone-faced as Assistant District Attorney Megan Joy recounted how he allegedly attacked three times — “with no provocation” — in the hours-long frenzy Monday morning that stretched from the West Side to the East River.
“(Rivera) embarked on a bloody and violent rampage that took the lives of three innocent New Yorkers who were doing nothing but going about their day,” Joy told the court.
The accused killer didn’t protest as Judge Janet McDonnell ordered him sent to jail without bail.
His seeming indifference appeared to be consistent with his actions right after the murder spree, too, sources said.
Rivera spent hours sleeping in police custody after he was nabbed in the bloody, broad-daylight carnage that left two men and a woman dead, sources familiar with his arrest said.
When he awoke, he waived his Miranda rights — and allegedly calmly gave a full confession, sources said.
The spree began with the stabbing of Angel Gustavo Lata-Landi, a 36-year-old construction worker from upstate Peekskill, who was waiting to be picked up from work in Chelsea at round 8:20 a.m., police said.
Lata-Landi’s family sat in the courtroom gallery Tuesday with tears streaming down their faces during the hearing.
“He died working, and we just want justice,” his sister, Vertha Land, told Gothamist. “The city should take responsibility for the disaster we’ve been left with.”
The deranged stabber then trekked to the East River waterline, where he fatally knifed Chang Wang, 67, who was fishing just before 10:30 a.m., cops said.
“It’s scary,” Murray Hill local Brian Keith told The Post Tuesday. “I was down here yesterday, so the stabber had to have passed me.”
A third victim — Wilma Augustin, 36 — was stabbed to death near the United Nations building about a half-hour later, police said. She was rushed to a nearby hospital, but succumbed to her injuries within hours, according to cops.
Augustin was a single mom and migrant from Haiti who lived at the Americana Inn shelter with her son, another resident said.
“She was a very good lady,’’ the woman said.
Rivera, who suffers from documented mental-health problems, was arrested shortly after Augustin’s stabbing and found with two knives, court papers stated.
His previous extensive criminal history came into play during the arraignment.
McDonnell noted that Rivera had been sprung on supervised release just last month in a petit larceny case because that charge was a non-bail eligible offense.
Rivera was hit with that charge on Oct. 17, the same day he was released from jail on a time-served sentence for a burglary case, sources have said.
Unlike with that previous arrest, his record gave authorities a clear path to keep him behind bars, with Joy telling the court that Rivera is a felon stemming from a 2023 burglary, and is wanted on a fugitive warrant out of New Jersey.
The judge ordered Rivera remanded to jail both on the murder count and the fugitive warrant.
The suspect’s mental health took center stage at Mayor Adams’ general weekly press briefing.
Adams urged state lawmakers to get behind his years-long push to allow mentally ill vagrants to be involuntarily yanked off the street.
“Everybody said I was inhumane, that we just want to institutionalize people,” he said, referring to past comments he’s made on the issue.
“Well, this is the result. This is the result of not taking actions and ignoring people who need help,’’ he said, referring to Rivera.
— Additional reporting by Amanda Woods
