By Patrick Donachie
JAMAICA — A 30-year-old woman was charged with attacking her aunt with a meat cleaver March 16, according to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.
Elizabeth Sanchez has been charged and arraigned with second-degree murder and criminal possession in the killing of her aunt, Maria Palaguachi, Brown said. Sanchez, who is accused of stabbing her 50-year-old aunt in the South Jamaica home they shared, was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court and faces 25 years to life in prison if found guilty, according to the DA’s office.
“It is alleged that the victim in this case was brutally attacked with a meat cleaver by her niece and suffered multiple wounds that proved fatal,” Brown said about the case. “The defendant now faces a lengthy time behind bars for her alleged actions.”
Police from the 113th Precinct responded to a 911 call at the home near the corner of 137th Avenue and 174th Street at about 11:07 a.m., according to the NYPD. The home is situated a few blocks south of the Rochdale Village complex. When police arrived, they found Palaguachi unconscious and unresponsive. EMS workers also went to the home, but Palaguachi was pronounced dead at the scene, the NYPD said.
According to the criminal complaint against Sanchez, Palaguachi was killed between 10:46 and 11:07 a.m. Sanchez, who is also known as Digna Sanchez Ortiz, struck Palaguachi repeatedly with a meat cleaver on her head, neck and shoulder, it said.
A meat cleaver with blood on it was recovered from the attic of the home, according to the criminal complaint.
Reach reporter Patrick Donachie by e-mail at pdona
