On an East Village street, a man was stabbed to death while protecting his wife from the crazy attacker. The attacker hurt the woman and a third man in a bloody street fight, officials said Tuesday.
Alejandro Piedra, 30, was charged with murder and attempted murder after the stabbing on Sunday that killed 38-year-old Clemson Cockfield and hurt his 52-year-old wife Jennifer Cockfield and 32-year-old Jonathan Lopez. NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said this at a news briefing on Tuesday.
Kenny says that all three of the victims sold used things on the curb near where they were stabbed on E. 13th St. between First Ave. and Avenue A.
The chief said that Lopez left his wife and things with Piedra to go to the bathroom. When he came back, Piedra was trying to steal some of the things.
If Lopez asked Piedra for a knife, he pulled it out and stabbed him in the head and chest. Other sellers, like Cockfield and his wife, saw Lopez being stabbed and helped him.
Someone from the crowd walked up behind Piedra, broke a lamp over his head, and then ran away, as reported by NY Daily News.
After that, Jennifer Cockfield got involved and hit Piedra with her shoes and punches. People stopped fighting, and Piedra walked away. He is said to have come back soon with a knife.
Officials say Jennifer Cockfield’s husband stepped in when the man struck her and stabbed her several times. He says Piedra then stabbed him once on the left side of the neck, three times in the chest, and once in the face.
Investigators say Piedra told police after being caught that he was acting in self-defense.
Police say Piedra admitted that he stabbed the three people, but he insisted that he did it because he thought his own life was in danger.
Police still want to find the person who hit Piedra with the lamp the first time. Piedra was charged with attacking two women in 2018 after hitting them with umbrellas. One of the people who died was 69 years old. The person was sent to mental health court, and they finished their time there in 2021.
He has to go to court on Friday. If found guilty, he could get 25 years to life in prison.
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