NEW YORK – An 18-year-old man has been charged with murder in connection with the stabbing of his 16-year-old girlfriend in Manhattan last month, prosecutors said.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced on Tuesday the indictment against Zyaire Crumbley in the December 11 murder of Saniyah Lawrence in Central Harlem.
Crumbley is charged with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree robbery.
Information about his attorney was not immediately available.
According to Bragg’s office, citing the indictment and statements made in the court record, on December 11 at around 5:30 p.m., Crumbley and Lawrence were at an acquaintance’s apartment when they argued over a phone call Lawrence received. . Crumbley allegedly tried to leave the apartment with his girlfriend’s phone. When Lawrence tried to get her phone back, Crumbley refused her, telling her to “come back or I’ll stab you,” according to prosecutors.
It was allegedly at this point that Crumbley and Lawrence argued on the phone during the apartment fight before Crumbley stabbed the girl in the neck. Crumbley fled the apartment with Lawrence’s knife and phone.
Lawrence was taken to Harlem hospital by ambulance, where she was pronounced dead a short time later.
“Saniyah Lawrence’s young life was tragically cut short by this shocking crime allegedly committed by her boyfriend,” Bragg said. “My thoughts are with Miss Lawrence’s family and loved ones as they experience this unimaginable pain.”
Bragg’s office reminds the public that incidents of domestic violence can be reported by calling the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office Domestic Violence Hotline at 212-335-4308 or by visiting the Manhattan Family Justice Center at Via Centro 80. Help is available to those who need it, regardless of their immigration status.
