A man who was deported to the Dominican Republic in 2016 after several criminal convictions was arrested this week and charged with fatally stabbing his girlfriend in New York this summer, according to court documents and officials.
Luis Severino Colon, 49, was charged and arraigned Oct. 15 on state charges of second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter of Cindi Olivo, 32, Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark said in a press release. Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York federally charged Severino Colon with illegal reentry, which is a felony.
On July 12, Olivo was found “severely decomposed” in the bedroom of their apartment after neighbors called authorities and complained of a foul odor on the floor, Clark said.
She was stabbed twice in the neck, the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner said. Authorities believe Olivo was killed between June 13 and July 12.
Severino Colon was taken into federal custody after his arraignment on state charges. His next court date is Oct. 30.
Lewis Mazzone, the lawyer representing him on the state charges, declined to comment this week.
It’s unclear if he has an attorney for his federal charge.
During the state investigation, the New York Police Department informed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in late July that Severino Colon was last seen in the Bronx and under investigation for a crime, federal court records show.
Severino Colon was arraigned in Florida on Aug. 14 on the federal charge of illegal re-entry. A judge directed US Marshals to transport him to the Southern District of New York.
ICE lodged an immigration detainer with the NYPD after his arrest in August, ICE spokeswoman Rachael Yong Yow said in a statement to CNN.
Severino Colon is a citizen of the Dominican Republic and has never been a United States citizen, federal court documents show.
He was deported to the Dominican Republic on Oct. 18, 2016, after pleading guilty to several crimes over an eight-year period, the federal complaint said.
It is unclear when he returned to the United States.
