LI man charged in upstate stabbing

An Islip Terrace man has been arraigned on attempted murder and assault charges after allegedly stabbing a woman in the neck last month in an upstate town near Syracuse, police said.

Christopher Tessitore, 28, of 281 Manhattan Blvd., is being held at Cayuga County Jail without bail after police said he stabbed Felicia Bowman, 41, of Liverpool during a Feb. 20 argument at the home of Tessitore's girlfriend in Auburn, about 30 miles southwest of Syracuse. He also is charged with criminal possession of a weapon.

A spokeswoman for the court said the case is being held for the grand jury.

Lt. Shawn Butler of the Auburn Police Department said his detectives are still working on a motive for the stabbing.

"The two people did not know each other until roughly an hour before this happened," Butler said. "They got into some type of verbal disagreement, and he reacted."

According to a news release from police, the mother of Tessitore's girlfriend and Bowman returned home from a benefit at about 1 a.m. Tessitore was at the house with his girlfriend, police said.

The mother left the house to go to the store, and Tessitore and Bowman got into an argument. Tessitore's girlfriend, who had left the room, returned to find "the victim bleeding and Tessitore with a knife in his hand," police said.

When the mother of Tessitore's girlfriend returned home, she learned what had happened and Tessitore fled on foot.

Police said the mother followed him down the street and jumped on his back "to stop him from leaving the scene until police could arrive."

Police said Tessitore was treated for superficial, self-inflicted neck wounds.

Butler said he was not sure why Tessitore would have stabbed himself. "The investigation is still open," he said "That will probably play out in the proceedings."

Butler said Bowman needed surgery for knife wounds to the neck and was only able to speak with police on Monday. "She was in a medically induced coma since the incident and her memory is not totally clear," Butler said.