Detectives charged 41-year-old Luis Marquez of the Bronx with murder on Tuesday, one day after 47-year-old Carmen Lopez was discovered on the 3rd floor of 409 West 129 Street by the elevator.
Photo by Dean Moses
The former boyfriend of a woman found fatally stabbed inside an Upper Manhattan apartment building on Monday morning has been charged with her murder, police reported Tuesday.
Luis Marquez, 41, of the Bronx was booked on murder charges in the death of 47-year-old Carmen Lopez, who was discovered mortally wounded near the third-floor elevator of 409 West 129th St.
A building cleaner came upon Lopez lying by the elevator after having been stabbed as many as 18 times, according to violence interrupter Iesha Sekou, who spoke with amNewYork after the killing.
Lopez was rushed to Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital in critical condition. However, cops said, she later succumbed to her injuries.
Sources familiar with the incident allege that Marquez had waited for hours to attack Lopez inside the building. Sources also indicate that Lopez was allegedly involved in a recent breakup.
Lopez was a mother of four, according to neighbors, leaving a child as young as seven behind.
A first-floor resident of the building, who identified himself to amNewYork as Jay, said on Monday that he had known the victim for about two decades and had heard arguing during the early hours of the morning.
“I was up very late. I didn’t hear much, but I heard a commotion between 3 and 4 a.m., like people arguing. It definitely just sounded like arguing,” Jay said. “She was a very nice person.”
Marquez was arrested after he went to a hospital with wounds he allegedly sustained during the attack. He spent about 24 hours in the hospital before being transferred to the 26th Precinct for questioning.
On Tuesday evening, detectives walked Marquez out of the 26th Precinct stationhouse in cuffs, but refused to answer questions about the murder and his alleged involvement.
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