A New York City man made up a story about a mugging to cover his murder of his girlfriend Wednesday night in the Bronx.
According to WABC, Franklin Batallas, aged 44, informed the police that he and 30-year-old Anthonella Contreras Linaraz were ambushed in Pelham Bay Park shortly after 8 p.m. when he paused his car to urinate. He claimed that two men on mopeds assaulted them.
He said he drove her to a hospital, where she died, despite being stabbed in the arm himself.
By Thursday, though, investigators brought Batallas in for questioning and ultimately charged him with murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
Police said the couple was in the process of breaking up, but relatives told News12 they’d already broken up and Batallas had been stalking her.
Mount Sinai Hospital said that Linaraz worked as a registered nurse at Mount Sinai Morningside.
“The Mount Sinai Health System community is mourning the loss of one of our own,” the hospital said in a statement, according to WABC. “We wish to convey our heartfelt condolences to family, friends and colleagues, and ask that you keep them in your thoughts.”
