In a chilling and alarming development, New York prosecutors have charged a Venezuelan national with attempted murder following a brutal throat-slashing incident. Experts caution that this attack might be a sinister imitation, coinciding with the anticipated guilty plea of the accused Gilgo Beach serial killer.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney detailed the unsettling incident, stating, “This defendant allegedly drove an acquaintance to a secluded beach and launched a surprise knife attack from behind.” He further emphasized the gravity of the situation, noting that “the evidence retrieved from his vehicle raises significant concerns about his intentions that night.”
Accompanying the news is a split image: the serene south shore of Long Island at Gilgo Beach juxtaposed with the mugshot of 26-year-old Ruben Guanipa Ramirez. Ramirez faces accusations of a vicious assault, including covering the victim’s mouth with a rag, stabbing him from behind, and attempting a throat slash. This shocking event unfolds amid heightened scrutiny, as the location is already infamous due to the Gilgo Beach serial killer case.
Law enforcement’s search of Ramirez’s vehicle, a 2024 Lexus NX250, revealed a disturbing array of items: several knives, rope, duct tape, blankets, plastic drop cloths, a “large-wheeled bag,” gloves, and a box cutter. These discoveries deepen the mystery surrounding Ramirez’s intentions and have prompted a broader investigation to ensure public safety.
Ruben Guanipa Ramirez, 26, is accused of smothering an unidentified male victim’s mouth with a rag before stabbing him from behind in the left side and attempting to slash his throat.
Police later searched Ramirez’s car, a 2024 Lexus NX250, and allegedly found multiple knives, rope, duct tape, blankets, plastic drop cloths, a “large-wheeled bag,” gloves and a box cutter.
A sign welcoming visitors to Gilgo Beach outside the tunnel that connects the parking lot to the beach underneath Ocean Parkway. (Michael Ruiz/Fox News)
Ramirez’s immigration status was not immediately clear. He’s being held at the Suffolk County Jail in Riverhead — the same facility housing Gilgo Beach suspect Rex Heuermann, 62.
While authorities have not publicly spoken of any connection between the crimes, observers like retired NYPD sergeant Joseph Giacalone, former head of the NYPD’s Bronx Cold Case Unit, see alarming similarities.
“Was this a copycat crime… related to what is happening with Rex Heuermann in the news?” said Giacalone, who has been following the Gilgo case for years.
“They need to take a long hard look at this guy.”
Alleged serial killer Rex A. Heuermann is escorted into Judge Tim Mazzei’s courtroom at Suffolk County Court in Riverhead for a frye hearing on July 17, 2025, in Riverhead, New York. The hearing was to determine if critical DNA evidence will be allowed in the trial. The 61-year-old has pleaded not guilty to murder charges in the deaths of seven women between 1993 and 2011. (James Carbone-Pool/Getty Images)
He said the items recovered from Ramirez’s car were particularly concerning, noting Heuermann’s alleged victims were found bound with duct tape and wrapped in burlap or plastic.
Some were dismembered.
Prior to the attack in the Gilgo Beach parking lot, Ramirez allegedly drove the victim to a pool hall in Nassau County and then Jones Beach, another waterfront nearby — where Heuermann once worked on the summer beach patrol.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney speaks to reporters during a news conference in Riverhead, N.Y., Thursday, June 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
“During the altercation, the victim sustained defensive wounds to his hands but was able to wrestle the knife away from Ramirez,” Tierney’s office said in a statement.
The victim managed to seize control of Ramirez’s car, call 911 and drive himself to a friend’s apartment in Queens, where the NYPD met up with him and he received medical treatment.
State police found Ramirez walking along the Long Island Expressway hours later.
That’s more than 20 miles from where prosecutors said the victim escaped from him on the side of Ocean Parkway — the remote waterfront highway made infamous after police found 11 bodies just east of Gilgo Beach in 2010 and 2011.
Ramirez is being held on $200,000 cash bail, $500,000 bond or $2 million partially secured bond.
He’s due back in court on April 29 and faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted of the most serious charge of attempted murder.
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