By Adam Kramer
A Bellerose man allegedly killed his wife about 10 p.m. Sunday next to a tour bus agency at 241-02 Hillside Ave., police said.
Noel Buenaventura, 49, was walking with his wife, Blanca, 47, when he allegedly pulled a knife and stabbed her numerous times in the chest before turning the knife on himself, police said. Buenaventura apparently stabbed himself in the stomach about seven times.
Police said the husband and wife, immigrants from Colombia, were a few blocks from their home at 241-23 85th Rd., when the attack occurred. Blanca was taken to Long Island Jewish Hospital in Glen Oaks where she died, while her husband was taken to North Shore Hospital in Nassau County where he is stable condition.
Buenaventura was charged with murder in the second degree and could face up to 25 years to life in jail if convicted, police said.
The couple’s landlord, who did not want to give his name, said a mutual friend had asked him to rent them an apartment about two years ago. He said the couple , who lived there with their 19-year-old son, had financial troubles and he only took a token amount of money for the rent.
“The lady was working and he was not used to having his wife bring all the money home,” he said. “They were not violent but had an argument now and then like every couple. My nephew told me that a few days ago the couple was having a discussion about employment.”
He said the family came to the United States to live the “American dream” and make a better life for themselves and their family back in Colombia. They were sending money back to their other two sons in their home country, he said, adding “a lot of people will be affected by this.”
“These people were really struggling to survive here,” he said. “Everybody who knows these people are in complete shock. It was very shocking and the son is destroyed.”
He said the son is now living with an uncle in Corona because he cannot stand to be inside his home with all of the memories associated with his mother and father.
The landlord said Blanca was selling papers at the Midtown Tunnel in the morning and made about $25. Then, he said, she would deliver fliers and at night go to work at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Now, he said, he and some others were trying to collect money to give her a proper funeral because the family was very poor and did not have much.
“This lady was a hard worker, “he said. “She did not deserve this.”
Reach reporter Adam Kramer by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 157.
