Police said officers first responded at about 12:27 a.m. Friday to a Wendy’s at 33 Austin Blvd. in North Long Beach after receiving a 911 call. Responding officers found the 42-year-old victim outside the restaurant suffering from stab wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene by a Nassau County police medic.
Hours later, at about 3:13 a.m., Fifth Precinct officers conducting a welfare check at a residence on West Mineola Avenue in Valley Stream discovered a 32-year-old woman who had also been stabbed. She was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Investigators said the suspect was arrested without incident. He has been charged with first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder.
Police have not publicly detailed a motive, but Det. Lt. George D’Arienzo said during a briefing that investigators believe the suspected motive can be summed up in one word: “anger.”
Authorities said the suspect knew both victims. One victim worked with him at the Wendy’s restaurant, while the second lived in the same Valley Stream residence, where tenants rented separate rooms and shared common areas.
Immigration Background and Policy
At a Sunday news conference, along with police and city officials, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said, “This didn’t have to happen,” and referenced immigration enforcement and policy. Blakeman is currently the only Republican running for New York Governor.Blakeman said Rivera entered the United States in 2016 as an unaccompanied minor after being apprehended at the border and released to stay in the country. He criticized federal immigration policy and the handling of unaccompanied minors.
“Why are we letting our unaccompanied minors into our country to run around basically, without any supervision whatsoever, then grow up and automatically get legal status in our country?” asked Blakeman.
“This is just an example of what happens when you have open borders,” he said, adding that it resulted in two women being killed. “They could have gone on to have very productive and happy lives, but they are no longer with us because of failed policies in the past that our state government is trying to reintroduce here in our state.”
Blakeman also cited the county’s cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the 287(g) program, and said, the program “removed over 2,000 illegal migrants with criminal records ranging from attempted murder, rape, robbery, burglary, drug dealing, gang activity, and assault.”
“I don’t know what the criminality would be here, and throughout this region, if they were still roaming around. Again, we can’t go back to the failed policies that have created this environment,” he said.