Queens killer fatally stabs three relatives in Springfield Gardens home; cops seek fugitive family member

By Rocco Parascandola, Andrew Califf, Mark Stamey and Larry McShane, Police Bureau Chief and New York Daily News. Nov 18, 2022 at 6:55 pm in the New York Daily News’ NYC CRIME

A bedridden disabled woman and two older relatives were stabbed to death in their sleep Friday morning, and the NYPD was seeking a fugitive family member who shared their Queens home, police sources said.

The triple homicide victims were a 26-year-old woman with a disability, her 47-year-old stepsister, and her 68-year-old stepmother, a family member said.

Relatives identified the slain 68-year-old as Hyacinth Johnson. At the scene, Johnson’s sister, Nadine Thomas, 53, cried and hugged other family members. “She was just always fun and laughter,” Thomas said.

“I can’t get my head working right,” said Donna Hewitt, a cousin of Johnson who was devastated by the slayings — which she said were incomprehensible.

“It was hard to believe. And now I’ve seen it, and it is real,” Hewitt said.

Johnson “was very loving, very caring, very friendly,” said Hewitt. “She got along with everybody. A very nice lady.”

The bodies were found around 10:40 a.m. by a health care aide visiting the house on 182nd St. near 146th Drive in Springfield Gardens, police sources said. The aide was coming to help out with care for the disabled woman, sources said.

A knife was recovered from a bathroom in the home. A police source said the suspected killer, 21, fled in the oldest victim’s van after the slayings at around 5 a.m.

The wanted relative had lived in the house for a short time before the lethal rampage, said sources.

Johnson and the 26-year-old disabled victim were found in one bedroom, and the 47-year-old woman was found in another, a source said. A neighbor said the 26-year-old was confined to a wheelchair and unable to walk or talk.

“My sister would take care of her,” said Ian Taylor, a neighbor. “This is very sad.”

It took until around 9 p.m. for the medical examiner to remove the first remains from the scene.

No further details were immediately available, although a police source said there were no prior domestic incidents at the residence.

“This is a quiet, working class neighborhood,” said Taylor. “We are very, very united. We look out for each other.”

Another local resident described Johnson as well-known and highly regarded as the mother of the neighborhood.

“It’s a really quiet neighborhood,” said the 60-year-old woman. “This doesn’t happen.”

With Kerry Burke

https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-triple-murder-queens-nypd-20221118-sqyhv5mqvfb33dfhgegdzqkiry-story.html