“Every room in this house, every nook and cranny, has a piece of him in it.”
These were the heart-wrenching words of Khristian Paiva, 19, whose brother came to his rescue – and died in his arms.
It was 11:20 p.m. on Friday, July 30 when Khristian said he was returning from the video store on 85th Street in Woodhaven. He was only three blocks from home, he said, when he saw four males in a seeming dispute. A female then crossed the street and talked to them, said Khristian, who overhead one say, “I’m mad, I’m about to do something.”
One of the four then approached Khristian and allegedly tried to hit him, but two of his friends took him toward the “J” train station, while another stayed behind and engaged Khristian in conversation.
“He says, ‘I have something to stop all this fighting,’ and shows me a blade,” an emotional Khristian told The Courier.
Since he had been on the phone with his mother – who realized her son was about to be hurt – she told 27-year-old Dario to go to the scene.
“He scared them off and we went to see if they got on the train,” said Khristian. “They see us, yell at us and start approaching us. They all pulled out knives.”
After a brief pursuit, Dario pushed his little brother down the stairs, effectively saving his life. Dario was stabbed in the neck, according to police.
“I carried him down the stairs and called 9-1-1, but they couldn’t get the directions right and sent emergency services three blocks away to 85th Street and Park Lane South.”
“My brother died in my arms.”
Dario, who had been a student at Kingsborough Community College, was pronounced dead at Jamaica Hospital.
On Monday, August 2, 19-year-old Benjamin Moreira was arrested in connection with the stabbing. He is charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon, say police.
Dario’s brother said he was planning to transfer to Queens College and study to be a lawyer.
Now, the family is trying to arrange his funeral.
“It’s hard for us to even come up with the money on such short notice,” said Khristian, who gave the police a full description of the four males, as well as two females on the scene.
“He was a loving guy, he loved everyone, was very artistic, and he was always there for my family.”
