Police confirm that two people have been arrested following the fatal stabbing of a man inside a Perry Avenue apartment in the Norwood section of The Bronx.

Police officials said officers responded to a 911 call regarding an assault inside an apartment at 3135 Perry Avenue in Norwood, located in the 52nd precinct, on Friday, March 4, at approximately 3.09 a.m. Upon arrival, they observed a 29-year-old man, unconscious and unresponsive, with stab wounds to the neck and chest.

EMS responded to the location and pronounced the victim deceased at the scene. Two individuals, who were also inside the apartment, a 21-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman, were taken into custody at the scene, as the investigation continued.

The deceased was later identified by police as Jonathan Hutcherson, 29, of 3135 Perry Avenue.

On Saturday, March 5, pursuant to an active investigation, police also said Meanna M. Torigoe, a 20-year-old woman, of 3135 Perry Avenue, was arrested on March 4, at 9.25 p.m. and charged with murder, manslaughter, and criminal possession of a weapon.

John Delgado, 21, also of 3135 Perry Avenue, was also arrested and charged with murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon at the same time and date.

Norwood News spoke to one man who was inside 3135 Perry Avenue on Saturday, March 5, who told us, in relation to the incident, “I woke up in the middle of the night and the hall was flooded with cops.” He added, “I don’t know why the media is so interested in this case; people kill people all the time. I don’t understand, it’s going on two days. They lived together for years, I never heard anything.”

Later, we also spoke to a local worker at an East 204th Street store who said, “A customer told me it [the murder] was about the music; it was too loud, and he went to tell the people to turn down the music and he went back into his room, and he came out and knocked on the door again. He said, ‘Hey, what’s going on here?’ Then, they stabbed him, yeah. Yes, the guy’s girlfriend? She was involved too, and they both got arrested because of loud music.”

The employee also alleged that two officials in white crime scene garb later stripped down to reveal army fatigues. “When they took off the white thing, they were [wearing] military camouflage, both of them,” he said. “They had the military issue clothes on.” Norwood News has reached back out to the NYPD to ask if the military were or are involved in the investigation, and will update this story upon receipt of any further information we receive in this regard.

A former Norwood resident, Victor Dong, who now resides in Van Cortlandt Park, who was walking down Perry Avenue on Saturday, said of the case, “Criminals are back on the street before they finish the paperwork. You have all the mental, crazy people around, pushing people in the subway, mugging people in the street… you don’t even see cops on the street here.”

Dong continued, “I remember the days, I lived in this neighborhood 30 years ago when cops used to be walking the beat. Stores never had gates and all the crap now. No one wants to get involved now. We used to have the C-POP program around here a long time ago, like 30 years ago… [Citizens patrolled the streets and called police to report problems]. We used to walk the streets here.”

He added, “They don’t have that anymore. People don’t get involved anymore. The way the economy is, people are going to rob and steal whatever… the hate crimes, knocking elderly people in the head… and there’s no cops around here. I used to live here 30 years ago, and it was nothing like it is today. The demographics have changed. The police are in the squad cars, and they can’t see what’s going on.” In reference to the recent reported burglary at the 52nd precinct, Dong said, “There ya go, even the cops aren’t safe.”

We also spoke to an elderly female resident of the building next door at 3139 Perry Avenue. When asked if she knew the couple who had been arrested in the context of the case, she said, “Sometimes I see them, but it’s been a while I haven’t seen them. I didn’t hear anything, but half of the day I wasn’t home.”

Asked if there were just two people living in their apartment, she said, “There were three, so they killed the one: one woman and two men, yes, so the girl…. and one of the men killed the other….terrible.” The resident said she didn’t know the man who had been killed, adding, “I knew the girl a long time ago. Now, I don’t even see her around here.” The resident added that the woman was Caucasian. “We didn’t really talk,” she said. “We’d say hello, you know, because we’re neighbors, but that’s about it.”

Asked what she knew of the incident itself, the resident said, “We got out of the car and we saw a bunch of people here and they were taking pictures, and so my husband says, ‘Why are they taking pictures?’ and I said ‘I don’t know.’ I felt terrible…. terrible after I found out.”

Another male resident of 3135 Perry Avenue also spoke to us about the incident, saying, “Honestly, I hate to say it, but I slept through the entire debacle and didn’t hear about it until the next morning, so I really don’t have any details on what happened.” He said he just knew the people involved from entering and exiting the building. “I maybe had one conversation with the girl in question, ever, in the four years that I’ve been here, so there’s not been a lot of interaction.”

He added, “I keep to myself, honestly, just because of situations like this.” Asked if all three people lived in the building in the four years that he’s lived there, the resident said, “I didn’t even know there was a third person…. I knew of the couple; I had no idea there was a third person in that apartment.”

Asked if he thought the couple who were arrested were the original tenants of the apartment, he said, “I think so, because they’re the only ones I’d really see.” He added, “It’s so funny when people ask, ‘Are you okay?’ I’m probably not as shaken up as I should be. I’d probably be more shaken up if someone broke in… it’s nuts! I just hope they figure all this nonsense out, and I don’t have to deal with murders in my building.”

In the context of the confirmation that the two people had been taken into custody, the resident said, “Yes, exactly. So, I just hope whatever happens, it resolves itself and all of us can sleep easier knowing that things are getting resolved.” Asked if the security video works in the building, he said, “That’s a good question. People have asked me that before… but I couldn’t tell you if they work.”

A person arrested and charged with a crime is deemed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law.

Following unofficial reports that Delgado had been released from custody, Norwood News contacted the Bronx District Attorney’s office on Friday, March 11, for an update. We were informed by a spokesperson for the District Attorney on Monday, March 14, that the grand jury dismissed the murder charge and failed to reach a decision on the manslaughter charge. “He [Delgado] was indicted for criminal possession of a weapon, a misdemeanor, and he was released on his own recognizance. We are going to represent the manslaughter charge to the grand jury,” the representative said.

We asked the NYPD if Delgado had any prior arrests. They said he had one prior arrest for smoking a cigarette on a train platform and one prior warrant. We asked for further details about the warrant. An NYPD spokesperson replied, “I do not have that info.”

Given the serious nature of the charges, we contacted the Office of Court Administration for a comment as to why Delgado was released from custody pending the outcome of the remaining charges. On Tuesday, March 14, we received a reply from a court representative, who said, “Bail/pretrial detention is based on a defendant’s return to court on current/pending charges. The fact that the DA may or may not represent a case into the Grand Jury that may or may not return an indictment is speculative.”

The representative continued, “If his only outstanding charge is a misdemeanor, that is not eligible for bail or detention, then that is what a Judge will use as a determining factor.”

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/ or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls are confidential.

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly made reference to a 29-year-old female victim. We apologize for this error. 

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.