The suspect accused of stabbing several homeless individuals around Manhattan earlier this summer, killing one of them, has been indicted, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg announced Tuesday.
Trevon Murphy, 41, was arrested on July 13 for allegedly embarking on a stabbing rampage in which he killed one unhoused man and injured another. Each of the targeted men were sleeping on benches when they were attacked.
On Aug. 16, he was charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with counts of second-degree murder and attempted murder, and a first-degree assault charge.
“These chilling attacks were committed against some of our most vulnerable community members,” District Attorney Bragg said. “It is unbelievably tragic that someone lost their life simply because they did not have the safety that comes with a roof over their head. Nobody should face violence when they face the extraordinarily painful and difficult experience of being unhoused, and we will pursue full accountability and justice in this case.”
According to the DA’s office, Murphy confessed to the crimes in disturbing video statements. He admitted to piercing his victims’ in the lower abdomen, calling the part of the anatomy ”the stabber’s choice.” He also reportedly declared that he was the individual seen in surveillance videos at the scenes.
Murphy — a man likewise living with homelessness — told amNewYork Metro at his July perp walk that he confessed to the crimes, stating (when asked why he did it): “Because of what they done to me!”
Murphy’s first alleged attack occurred at Hudson River Park during the early hours of July 5, where he allegedly approached an individual sleeping on a bench inside the green space at approximately 3:09 a.m. before stabbing him. The victim later died at Bellevue Hospital.
The second attack occurred on July 8 at around 11 p.m. at the northeast corner of Madison Avenue and East 49th Street. Police said he stabbed the individual in the lower abdomen before fleeing the scene. The victim survived.
