By Joe Anuta
After three days in Elmhurst General Hospital, the 21-year-old girl shot in the head Oct. 24 in Maspeth died from her injuries, according to police.
Elijah Stamateris, 22, of 50-43 64th St., was charged with assault and criminal possession of a weapon, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Queens district attorney’s office, although those charges were expected to be upgraded.
Shortly before 9 p.m. on the night of the shooting, Stamateris and Delilah Cordoba were sitting with at least two other people in his living room.
Stamateris pointed a loaded gun at Cordoba and pulled the trigger, according to the complaint.
The bullet hit Cordoba in the head and entered her brain, the complaint said.
Stamateris then ran out of the house and hid the gun in the backyard of a nearby home, the complaint said. He then carried the injured Cordoba out into the street, where he left her without calling for medical assistance, the complaint said.
A neighbor said that someone in his house had heard arguing near the corner of 51st Avenue and 64th Street, and then a man say something to the effect of, “I messed up.”
According to the criminal complaint, Stamateris then ran back into his house and took an ax to the couch where Cordoba was sitting when she was shot.
Police and ambulance responded to the scene, according to the neighbor, who saw medics lift the woman into the ambulance and police break down a door in an alley leading to the back of the house.
Cordoba was rushed to the hospital, where she was listed in critical condition, according to the complaint.
On Tuesday morning at around 11 a.m., a somber motorcade led by a black hearse passed by the site where Cordoba was loaded into the ambulance.
About 50 candles had been set up along the sidewalk along with bouquets of flowers and balloons.
A single picture of Cordoba hung on the fence. According to a member of the funeral party, it was a photo of her and her boyfriend of eight years.
Some mourners in the more than 30 cars that passed by yelled “I love you!” Others stopped to take pictures.
Soon after the shooting occurred, neighbors were shocked to find out that a young woman had died.
Other neighbors walking their dogs through the neighborhood said the shooting was highly unusual for the relatively crime-free area.
“I’m shocked,” said one woman. “It’s a very quiet neighborhood and it’s stuff like this that destroys it.”
Another person milling around the crime scene — the front and back of the house where one of the suspects reportedly ran were still blocked off with police tape the day after — said the shooting was a tragedy since the victim was so young.
Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.
