A ruthless brute accused of “mercilessly” stabbing his ex-girlfriend to death outside her Manhattan apartment building faced a murder indictment Wednesday, prosecutors announced.
Tyquane Jemmott, 33, is charged with lying in wait outside the Washington Heights building for 29-year-old Shirley Rodriguez around 5:30 a.m. on May 20. He ambushed her in a vicious, minute-long attack while she screamed, “Ty, why me? Why me?” according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Rodriguez was stabbed “at least 10 times,” suffering wounds to her face, arms, and torso.
Despite her severe injuries, the bloodied victim managed to stumble into the lobby of the building to buzz her apartment, summoning her mom and sister. As she lay dying, she told them, “Ty did this to me.”
“This is a gruesome domestic violence murder,” assistant DA Shilpa Kalra said in court Wednesday. “The defendant stabbed his ex-girlfriend at least — at the very least — 10 times. We’re still awaiting the autopsy report.
“He is on video hiding behind parked vehicles, literally lying in wait for like three hours, waiting for his ex-girlfriend who had just broken up with him a week prior, waiting for her to leave her home for work.”
“He stabbed her mercilessly, over and over again,” Kalra added, informing Judge Gregory Carro that the shocking assault “lasted for over a minute.”
Jemmott allegedly fled the scene but was arrested later that day at a relative’s apartment in the Bronx.
“Shirley Rodriguez was beloved by her family, including her mother, father, and sister who so tragically had to hear this young woman’s final words as she succumbed to her injuries,” DA Alvin Bragg said in a statement. “My thoughts are with them as they continue to grieve her loss.”
Jemmott was charged with one count of second-degree murder in the indictment and was ordered held without bail pending a return court appearance on Sept. 18.
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