Elderly New York Woman Stabbed To Death By Fiance For Breaking Off Engagement

An elderly woman was stabbed to death by a man in a liquor store in Manhattan, New York, on Wednesday. According to reports, the woman was killed by her fiancé for removing her engagement ring and breaking off their engagement.

The victim, identified as 64-year-old Gabrielle Gottlieb, was stabbed multiple times in her chest by her 63-year-old fiancé, John Foster, inside Wine Heaven store on 3rd Avenue near East 25th Street in Kips Bay. The victim was immediately rushed to the nearby Bellevue Medical Center where she succumbed to her injuries.

According to the police, Gottlieb, who was a holistic wellness guru and the proprietor of Well Balanced Woman, an acupuncture center, had ended her engagement with Foster as she couldn’t deal with his anger issues anymore.

Foster, who couldn’t digest the fact, started confronting her initially in her apartment in Kips Bay but the scene soon got worse and got physical. Gottlieb immediately left the apartment but was followed by Foster who chased her for almost two blocks before stabbing her inside the wine shop.

“She was an incredibly accomplished woman who had terrible taste in men,” Judy Jackson, a friend of Gottlieb, told local media.

NYPD officers who rushed to the scene found Foster fleeing the scene. He was later found on the rooftop of his five-story apartment threatening to jump and kill himself. The police cornered him and took him into custody. He was then taken to Bellevue for a psychiatric assessment. The murder weapon was found and retrieved from the crime scene.

According to police, Foster had a criminal record mostly dealing with drugs and also had spent some time in jail.

“Even though he had this history, (Gottlieb) felt that she could help him. She believed in him when he minimized and diminished his past,” Jackson said.

The couple was engaged just three months after they met in a spiritual workshop about a year ago.

Following the coronavirus outbreak, Gottlieb had asked Foster to move in with her because she was concerned about his health and feared he could contract to the virus.

Foster was charged with murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon.