Who is Rigoberto Lopez? Homeless NYC subway slasher confesses to stabbing spree that killed 2 and wounded 2
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK: A homeless man from Brooklyn with a history of psychiatric issues was arrested on Sunday, February 14, for stabbing four people who were sleeping in the subway, killing two of them, during a violent murderous spree on February 13 that raised alarms over safety in the transit system. Rigoberto Astwood Lopez, 21, was arrested at around 6:15 pm at W. 186th St. and Audubon Ave. in Washington Heights after hundreds of cops were deployed to keep the public safe from the mystery killer. The police department charged Lopez with murder and attempted murder charges after he confessed to all four unprovoked attacks.
Police said an officer who had seen a suspect image from the surveillance video recognized Lopez wearing blood-stained clothing and was walking on Autoban Avenue in Washington Heights on Feb 13 night. Officers said they found a knife on him as well.
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Within 24 hours, Rigoberto Lopez was apprehended for stabbing four people in separate incidents occurring on the A Train, which left two dead and two with serious injuries. pic.twitter.com/qf4s1xa50f
— Chief Rodney Harrison (@NYPDDetectives) February 14, 2021
Lopez stabbed four people during a 14-hour stretch between upper Manhattan and Far Rockaway, Queens, all on the city’s longest subway line. All four victims are believed to be homeless. They appeared to have come to the subways for shelter before they were stabbed. Police also revealed that Lopez is mentally unwell and has spent time in at least one hospital psychiatric ward. His last known address is a motel in Gowanus, Brooklyn, which used to house homeless people. He has four previous arrests, two of them for assault and criminal contempt against his father, cops said.
“They were all unprovoked attacks, and the victims didn’t initiate anything,” NYPD Deputy Chief Brian McGee said. “The victims didn’t initiate anything.”
In an interview with NY Post, Lisbeth Astwood, his 27-year-old sister said, “This is a surprise to me. He was normal, as far as I saw." She further said: "He used to get depression, but was never diagnosed with schizophrenia or anything like that. The only drugs I knew of him using was marijuana." His sister also revealed that before Lopez started living at the shelter, he lived with his family in the Bronx. But was eventually kicked out by his two older brothers. “There were some issues about the way he was acting. He didn’t like the way the house was being run. He’d tell our mother how to wash the dishes, things like that,” Astwood said. Astwood also stated that their parents now live in the Dominican Republic while their two brothers live separately in the Bronx.
In regard to his dispute with his father, on September 30, 2019, Lopez had asked his dad, who is in his 70s for drug money but hit him in the knee with a wooden stick when he refused, police stated. He returned to his father a week later on October 5 and again harassed him for money, police said. The dad then obtained an order of protection against his son.
During the 14-hour killing spree, Lopez's first victim was Carlos Martinez. The 67-year-old homeless man was sitting in his walker at the 181st St. stop when he was stabbed. “I’m going to kill you!” Lopez announced as he jabbed Martinez with a knife in the right knee and buttocks before fleeing, said sources. The victim was taken to Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center for treatment. Around 12 hours later on the opposite end of the city, a 40-year-old man was found dead in a subway train at the Far Rockaway-Mott Avenue station, the eastern end of the A-line. He was discovered at 11:19 pm sprawled out on the seat of an idling train. He had multiple stab wounds to his neck and chest
After around two hours, 42-year-old Claudine Roberts was attacked, she faced multiple stab wounds was found at the A-train station at West 207 Street and Broadway in Inwood, cops said. She was immediately taken to New York Presbyterian-Allen Hospital, where she was declared dead. Her father, Winston Roberts, told the Daily News Sunday his daughter was “a quiet girl” who struggled with mental illness since she was a teen. Claudine was homeless and Winston said he rarely saw his daughter. “She came here well-dressed on Wednesday,” he said of his daughter. “She was in pink shoes and a green jacket. Now she is in the morgue.”
The fourth unnamed victim was stabbed four times in the back just below his neck while as he slept on the steps at the 181st St./Fort Washington Ave. station about 1:28 am Saturday, February 13, almost half an hour after the subway closes until 5 am each night. The victim, a 43-year-old man who appeared to be homeless, staggered into a nearby Chase ATM vestibule, where a security guard called for help.
Lopez was charged with one count of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree attempted murder.
Cover pic credit: Daily News