A man identified only as a 35-year-old Hispanic male was stabbed to death on Sunday night inside a Marion Avenue building just north of Fordham Road, the same building where a woman was burned, dismembered and left dead on the roof in January.
At press time, a police spokesman said the latest murder was still under investigation.

Police were called to 2640 Marion Ave. just before midnight on Sunday, March 29. Over the radio, officers arriving on the scene said the victim was so bloody they thought he had been shot.

Later, police said he had actually been stabbed “multiple times.”

Maritza Burgos, 42, who lives down the street from the crime scene said she only heard about the murder after the fact. “I was home sleeping,” she said. “I didn’t hear anything until my super informed us that someone had gotten killed in the neighborhood.”

After talking with police, Burgos said, “I guess they were saying he [the victim] was Puerto Rican and he had gotten into it with someone and he was stabbed, I don’t even know how many times.”

The victim was declared dead at the scene. Police had Marion Avenue at East 194th Street closed off for several hours.

The community seemed to have come together after the Jan. 5 murder and dismemberment of Paulemont Manuella, 28. Manuella’s ex-boyfriend, Shandron Rambert, 27, was arrested in connection with the murder, but was only charged with criminal contempt and burglary.

In late November of last year, the same neighborhood was hit with three other murders in the span of a week.

In mid-January, following Manuella’s murder, Deputy Inspector James Alles, the commanding officer of the 52nd Precinct, and his leadership team, attended a forum at Our Lady of Refuge Church to discuss the murders and other crime issues in the neighborhood. Alles promised to keep heightened tabs on the area and return for follow-up meetings.

Sunday’s murder was the third in the precinct so far this year.
Six weeks ago, on Valentine’s Day morning, a man named Michael Lorge was shot execution-style in his car on Decatur Avenue  in Norwood while getting ready for work. Last week, police said they have yet to arrest anyone for the murder.

Ed. note: On Monday, April 6, we will be facilitating a discussion about crime in the 52nd Precinct on our blog, bronxnewsnetwork.org. For 2008 crime statistics by sector, see page 6.