Franklin Batallas, 44, of Westchester Avenue, stands accused of murdering his lover — Anthonella Contreras Linarez, 30 — in an attack that occurred near the City Island Circle, at Park Drive and City Island Road, in Pelham Bay Park at about 8:10 p.m. on Sept. 17.
Obtained by amNewYork
The boyfriend of a Bronx woman who was stabbed to death in a park on Wednesday night has been charged with her murder after detectives determined his claims that robbers had killed her were a hoax.
Franklin Batallas, 44, of Westchester Avenue, stands accused of murdering his lover — Anthonella Contreras Linarez, 30 — in an attack that occurred near the City Island Circle, at Park Drive and City Island Road, in Pelham Bay Park at about 8:10 p.m. on Sept. 17.
Batallas initially told police that two unidentified men on mopeds had attempted to rob and then brutally stabbed Linarez as she sat in their car alone. The suspect claimed that he had stopped his vehicle and gone behind a bush to relieve himself when the incident occurred.
The suspect further claimed that the robbers also slashed him in the arm when he allegedly ran to her aid, police initially reported.
Batallas later drove up to Montefiore Hospital in New Rochelle with the wounded Linarez, who had been stabbed multiple times about her face, neck and body. Despite the medical staff’s efforts, she was pronounced dead a short time later.
The New Rochelle Police Department reported the incident to the NYPD’s 45th Precinct, which launched a murder investigation. Batallas was taken into custody and questioned by detectives, during which his story apparently fell apart.
Detectives escorted Batallas out of the 45th Precinct stationhouse in Throggs Neck on Friday afternoon en route to Bronx Criminal Court for arraignment on charges of murder, first-degree manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon.
Judge Ralph Wolf ordered Batallas held without bail and to return to court on Sept. 24.
→ Continue reading at amNY
