The ex-boyfriend of a woman found stabbed to death inside her Manhattan apartment was arrested and charged in her murder, according to police.
Candido Rodriguez was nabbed days after officers made the grisly discovery in an East Harlem apartment on Second Avenue, according to police. Officers were called to perform a wellness check on Tuesday at the apartment of Melanie Woods after the 33-year-old missed a planned trip to California.
After forcing their way inside — which was made more difficult after a table was found to be blocking the doorway from within — officers found Woods unconscious and unresponsive in the tub. According to police, Woods had been stabbed multiple times in the chest and had cuts to her neck.
She was pronounced dead at the scene after 7 p.m.. Her death was ruled a homicide, police said.
Get Tri-state area news and weather forecasts to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York newsletters.
An investigation revealed that a neighbor heard a commotion coming from the apartment before 8 a.m. the same day, followed by someone leaving. Rodriguez, 52, was seen on security camera footage getting out of a cab around 6:15 earlier the same day, and statements from witnesses showed him in the stairwell about an hour later.
A neighbor said a commotion came from Woods' apartment between 7:30 a.m. and 8 a.m. According to witnesses, someone then left the apartment, taking the stairs. Just after 8 a.m., Rodriguez was again seen on video heading out of the building and getting in a cab.
After he was taken into custody, Rodriguez denied having any involvement in Woods' death, police said, claiming to have been asleep at his home on West 22nd Street the day she was killed — contradicting witness statements.
News
Attorney information for Rodriguez was not immediately clear.
Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to contact police.
