A Brooklyn man was arrested in Kew Gardens Hills for stabbing his girlfriend and her 6-year-old daughter during early morning attack on Thanksgiving Day, prosecutors announced Friday.
Steven Bagu, 30, was charged with second-degree attempted murder, first- and second-degree assault, first-degree attempted assault, first-degree unlawful imprisonment, endangering the welfare of a child and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Bagu was remanded to custody and ordered to return to court in February 2020.
“The defendant in this case is accused of attacking an innocent child with a knife and then turning the blade on the girl’s mother when she tried to stop him,” said Acting Queens District Attorney John M. Ryan. “This was a heinous act of violence that put both victims at grave risk. The defendant is in custody and now faces spending decades in prison as punishment for his alleged criminal actions.”
According to charges, on Nov. 28, Bagu’s girlfriend woke up to the sound of her 6-year-old daughter screaming sometime between 2 and 4:30 a.m. The mother ran into the living room and allegedly saw Bagu standing over her daughter with a knife in his right hand. The 6-year-old girl had been stabbed in the neck and was bleeding.
When the mother attempted to go to her daughter, Bagu allegedly blocked her, jumped in front of her and grabbed her when she then went toward the door to get help. The woman repeatedly tried to escape Bagu until he allegedly stabbed her in the throat with the knife. Bagu then allegedly held the two victims for two hours.
The mother was able to escape after Bagu fell asleep and she ran to a neighbor’s apartment for help and called 911. Bagu was arrested at the scene and both victims were taken to nearby hospitals. The 6-year-old received stitches to close the puncture wound to her neck and her mother had to undergo surgery to repair her trachea.
Bagu is due to report to court on on Feb. 13, 2020. If convicted, Bagu faces up to 25 years in prison.
