Cops: Man facing murder charge in mother's death in Deer Park
A Brooklyn man found covered in blood early Wednesday by police responding to a domestic disturbance at his mother's Deer Park home is facing a murder charge for allegedly stabbing her to death, authorities said.
At a news conference outside the two-family residence on West 23rd Street, Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney K. Harrison identified the suspect as Gabriel Cabral-Cardona, 33. His mother, later identified as Olga Cardona-Hernandez, 54, died at the scene, Harrison said.
Cabral was treated at a hospital for minor cuts and faces a second-degree murder charge, police said. He is scheduled for arraignment Thursday.
Suffolk police responding to a 911 at 7:06 a.m. arrived to find "an individual, who ended up being our subject … standing on the side of the house, covered in blood," Harrison said.
Inside the home, the commissioner said, officers discovered the woman "on the floor covered in blood and she sustained several stab wounds."
Cabral had come to the home from Brooklyn on Tuesday evening, Harrison said, adding that there was no history of calls warranting police response at the location.
Harrison didn't say who made the 911 call on "a verbal dispute."
"We're still trying to identify what caused this violent act," he said.
Several Suffolk police vehicles were parked outside the home and yellow police tape blocked anyone from entering the street.
Vincent Spina, who lives in the neighborhood, said: "People don’t give a care about life. … Nobody should die like that. Nobody."
Rich Mott, of Islip, works nearby and described the woman's death as "shocking."
"It’s terrible," Mott said. "It’s getting too common. It’s everywhere and it’s gotta stop."
With James Carbone and Cecilia Dowd
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
