A New York man was nabbed in the fatal stabbing of his elderly wife in their Manhattan apartment, a killing which may have been fueled by an argument over a house the couple owned, police and neighbors said.
79-year-old Lanilda Nuez was found with multiple stab wounds inside the home at 615 West 144th St. near Riverside Drive in Hamilton Heights, police said.
Her 68-year-old spouse, who was separated from but still living with the victim, was arrested.
Geraldo Balbuena, was charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon, police said.
On Friday, the usually “dry” husband was drinking and being very generous – offering beers to adults and candy to children, a neighbor claimed, adding the man spoke of committing suicide before Nuez was found dead.
On Saturday, friends and family members grieved for the beloved woman affectionately known as “China.” In front of the building where she lived and died, a memorial of flowers and candles had sprouted.
Nuez was a breast cancer survivor who remained upbeat and would hold court from her stoop outside.
“She was everyone’s grandmother on this block. She was funny. She was feisty, that’s why everyone loved her. She was always making everyone laugh,” recalled the victim’s granddaughter, Chanill Arashiro, told the NYP.
Police recovered two knives at the scene.
“She was the neighborhood grandma. She seen most of us grow up,” said one neighbor who gave her name as Marlyn. “She was a very good person. She didn’t deserve this. How you get your life taken away at this age?”
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