Victims, suspect ID'd in deadly West Hills attack
A Huntington Station man faces a murder charge for allegedly stabbing another man to death during a dispute Thursday and then turning the knife on the victim's wife when she tried to intervene, Suffolk police said.
The attack took place shortly after 1 p.m. in West Hills, inside a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee parked on Oakwood Road across from Stimson Middle School, according to police.
Candelario Cordova, 53, was driving the SUV while in a dispute with Roque Cisneros, 58, when he pulled over, police said.
Cordova got a knife from the trunk and "began stabbing Cisneros," a police news release said late Thursday.
Cisneros' wife, Vilma Campos, soon pulled up, according to police. She tried to stop the attack but Cordova began stabbing her, police said. Witnesses called 911.
Cisneros was pronounced dead at the scene. Campos suffered minor injuries and cuts and was transported to Huntington Hospital, according to police.
Cordova, meanwhile, waited by the SUV after the attack for officers to arrive, police said.
He was charged with second-degree murder and may face additional charges, police said.
With Stimson Middle School approaching dismissal Thursday, police shut down Oakwood Road and kept streets near the crime scene closed to traffic for several hours afterward — the Cherokee partially covered with a yellow tarp as investigators searched for clues. A crime scene van and a mobile command vehicle were parked on Oakwood, partially blocking the view from Stimson Middle School.
Detectives said the two men knew each other and an argument that had begun earlier continued in the SUV.
“We do not believe it was random and it started with an argument,” said Suffolk County police Det. Lt. Kevin Beyrer Thursday afternoon at the scene, adding that the nature of the dispute was unknown.
Cordova is set to be arraigned Friday in First District Court in Central Islip.
South Huntington School District officials sent a message Thursday afternoon to parents about possible school bus delays.
Students were dismissed, some to waiting parents, about 3 p.m. as other traffic was diverted.
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.
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