Police Arrests Man After He Hacked His Mother To Death With A Matchet.

 

A 26-year-old man has been charged with murder after prosecutors alleged that he fatally stabbed his 61-year-old mother inside their Far Rockaway home.Armel Crawford was arraigned on Wednesday on charges of second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon following the death of Joanne Crawford, police and prosecutors said.

Queens Assistant District Attorney Lindsey Ruzza told the court that the victim suffered 11 stab wounds, including injuries to her abdomen and throat.

"The victim sustained 11 stab wounds," Ruzza said. "A stab wound to the abdomen went through the liver and through the entire body. A knife was shoved down her throat, which split her tongue in half and perforated the trachea."

Police discovered Joanne Crawford inside the family home at about 10.40 a.m. on Tuesday, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities later arrested Armel Crawford after he allegedly fled the area and entered the water near Rockaway Beach. Prosecutors said he was taken into custody at Beach 62nd Street and the Rockaway Boardwalk after allegedly attempting to evade police.

Crawford was ordered held without bail by Judge Sharifa Milena Nasser-Cuellar.

The victim was a retired city corrections officer. According to relatives and neighbours, she and her son had a difficult relationship, and police had previously responded to domestic disturbance reports at the home, including two earlier incidents this year.

A relative, Barry Crawford, told local media that Armel had no previous criminal record and described their relationship as strained, saying he believed his cousin had struggled with feelings that his mother had not spent enough time with him while working as a corrections officer.

Neighbours said the incident had shocked the community, describing the Crawford family as well known and respected in the area.

"We are all pretty shaken up," one neighbour said. "This is extremely shocking. We’re all just trying to process what happened."

Barry Crawford said he was devastated by Joanne Crawford’s death and remembered her as a caring person who was always supportive of her family and community.