Mentally Sick Man Stabs Staten Island Woman, Injures Neighbor Who Intervened

A Staten Island, New York City, resident was stabbed repeatedly in the chest and face Monday afternoon by a mentally deranged man, just a block away from her home. He also cradled the woman's body till police arrived, authorities said.

Geetha Howie, 63, was repeatedly knifed by Dantey Moore, 27, at Bement Avenue and Bement Court in Randall Manor, Staten Island. Moore, according to police authorities, also injured a neighbor who came outside to help the victim.

Two of Moore's sisters said he had a history of abusing the drug angel dust, for which he had been hospitalized, according to a report by New York Daily News. They also added Moore suffered from episodes of rage.

One of the sisters, Cynthia Toye, 23, reportedly said, “His anger was just building, building. He’s just so stubborn, he thinks he has it under control, but we’ve seen him snap plenty of times… He’ll put holes in the wall.”

She also stated that Moore recently fought with his girlfriend. Both the sisters confirmed they didn’t know Howie until Monday. According to police sources, Moore had quite a long history with the law. Since 2007, he was arrested 34 times, including for numerous domestic-violence related cases.

Police investigation showed that the victim and Moore, who lived just a few blocks away from the crime scene, were total strangers.

Mark Long, 56, the neighbor who was also injured when he came to help, said he heard screams at around 2.15 p.m. EST and went outside immediately.

Describing the incident, he said, “The hand was going up and down... his hand was holding a knife and that’s when I realized he’s stabbing and I said, ‘Hey, stop!’”

He added, “The guy stood up, he lunged at me, swung his knife out. He scored me in the arm... He then backed off from Howie and faced me. All I could think about is keeping his attention away from the woman. I just kept asking him, ‘What’s going on? What are you doing? Why are you hurting her?’ Then he said 'She [Howie] cheated, she cheated with everyone.'”

“I didn’t really know what that meant. Then he just bent over and put his arms around her and just stayed there until police and the ambulance showed up. At one point, he was trying to cradle her with her head in his lap,” he added.

Howie was immediately taken to the Richmond Medical Center where she died an hour later. As of that moment, the charges against Moore were still pending.

Howie’s son-in-law, Daniel Fazzina said, “It’s just a rough situation. She was an amazing woman. She loved her granddaughter.” He added, “They were inseparable and it’s a senseless tragedy.”

Fazzina also suspected Moore could have tried to rob Howie as she was coming back from the bank. According to Fazzina, Howie was employed as a lab technician and was preparing to start a new job in New Jersey. He also said the family was planning to attend a wedding in Sri Lanka.