A 16-year-old Corona boy who was taken into custody for questioning after a housemate was fatally stabbed on Sunday morning was arrested hours later and booked at the 115th Precinct in Jackson Heights, where he was charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
The teenager, who was not identified because he is a minor, was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on Monday evening.
Police from the 115th Precinct responded to a 911 call of a person stabbed at a home near the corner of 35th Avenue and 102nd Street in North Corona sometime between 5:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m.. on Jan. 26.
Upon arrival, the officers discovered 24-year-old Byron Lema-Naula inside the first floor of the 35th Avenue residence, unconscious and unresponsive, with a stab wound to the neck.
EMS responded to the location and rushed Lema-Naula to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short while later.
Cops say a knife was recovered at the scene, and the teen was taken into custody and taken to the 115th, where he was questioned and placed under arrest around 4:30 p.m. He was charged with murder in the second degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the 4th degree, police said.
Sources familiar with the investigation reported that Lema-Naula is believed to have been renting a room inside the household from the suspect’s family at the time of his murder. Both the victim and the teen male suspect, who is related to the family subletting the room to Lema-Naula, apparently got into a dispute over loud music moments before the bloodshed, the sources said. The dispute escalated into violence when the teenager pulled out a knife and stabbed Lema-Naula in his neck causing his death, according to the criminal complaint.
Neighbors claimed that a new landlord bought the home recently and began renting out rooms to young tenants. However, they also said the house has become a revolving door of new faces.
Sunday’s murder was a surprise to locals.
“We came out, we saw some police officers. Personally, for me, it’s super sad and it’s crazy. We don’t know exactly what the problem was that led to the death,” said 22-year-old Scarlett Astudillo. “It’s crazy.”
The 16-year-old was arraigned at around 5:30 p.m. on Monday before Judge Bruna DiBiase, who remanded him into custody without bail and adjourned the case until Jan. 30, according to the Queens District Attorney’s office.
