Two women were found dead inside a Manhattan apartment Tuesday morning, both with multiple stab wounds, police said.
Officers were called to the home on Sherman Avenue in Washington Heights just before 10 a.m. by the building's superintendent, who went to the apartment after a neighbor heard screaming and saw blood dripping through the front door. The super told NBC New York that he knocked on the door, and a voice said everything was fine, but he called police anyway.
When cops arrived, they broke through the door and saw the women, a 51-year-old and a 37-year-old, unconscious and and unresponsive. Both women had stab wounds to the neck and chest, police said.
They were rushed tot he hospital, where they were pronounced dead. The younger woman, Jaslynn Pena, was renting a room in the third-floor apartment from the other victim, Belky Cruz, police said. According to family members, Pena's boyfriend showed up to the apartment in a rage and attacked both women.
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According to police, that boyfriend was trying to flee via the fire escape when officers arrived. The building's super said the man, later identified as Kelvin Valdez, had a knife and was taken into custody. The 27-year-old Valdez was arrested, charged with murder and weapon possession. Attorney information for Valdez was not immediately available.
The medical examiner hasn't determined a cause of death for the victims. An investigation is ongoing.
