NYC Mom Arrested, Her Son in Custody in Boy's Stabbing Death
A 38-year-old Bronx woman has been arrested and her teenage son is in custody in connection with the brazen stabbing death of a 17-year-old Brooklyn boy in broad daylight earlier this week, law enforcement sources familiar with the case tell News 4.
Barbara Galloza is charged with tampering with physical evidence and hindering prosecution, the law enforcement sources say. Police believe she witnessed a Monday confrontation with her own son and Rohan Burke -- and saw Burke stabbed to death in the street. Her son has been in custody for questioning, though no charges have been filed at this time. No other details on him were available, and it wasn't immediately clear if Galloza had an attorney.
Burke's parents say their son was a respectful kid who wanted to be a prosecutor when he grew up. And they shared a gut-wrenching account of his final moments as they say detectives told it to them.
According to Burke's parents, two young males and a girl walked up to their son on Avenue M and East 17th Street in Midwood around 4 p.m. Monday. One of the males stabbed Burke, then passed the knife to the girl, some of which played out on surveillance video, the parents said they were told.
A worker at a nearby pizza shop heard the screams and ran out to try to help Burke. He was the one who called 911.
It wasn't clear how many times Burke was stabbed.
Burke's family -- and his neighbors -- are heartbroken. All say the boy wasn't the least bit argumentative and would never provoke a fight. They can't fathom why he would have been attacked -- and cops say a motive remains unclear.
"Please, if you know who did this or if you are the person, please have a heart and turn yourself in," his tearful mother said. "My son didn’t deserve to die this way. He just turned 17 years old. He was a baby."
"The best part of his life hasn’t even come yet and someone is out there who knows what happened to my son," she added.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
Photo Credit: News 4
from NBC New York - Top Stories http://bit.ly/2PEWEC4
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