N.Y. couple pleads guilty to stabbing, beating neighbor with baseball bat over parking spot

NEW YORK (TCN) -- A couple faces 14 years in prison for attempting to kill their neighbor over a parking spot dispute.

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Jan. 8 that a married couple, 32-year-old Arturo Cuevas and 28-year-old Daisy Barrera, pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted murder after stabbing and beating their 28-year-old neighbor in March 2023. They are scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 22 and face 14 years in prison.

According to prosecutors, on March 17, 2023, Wilson Lliguicota returned to his home and parked his car when the defendants, "armed with weapons," approached Lliguicota and attacked him. Cuevas reportedly stabbed Lliguicota with a folding knife numerous times, and Barrera beat him in the head with a metal baseball bat.

The couple reportedly knocked the victim to the ground before Cuevas continued to stomp on his body, and Barrera struck him in the head with the bat.

Lliguicota’s girlfriend, 22-year-old Delia Chimbay, saw her boyfriend from their apartment window and went outside to render aid. According to the district attorney’s office, Barrera also struck Chimbay with the bat in her arm and continued to hit Lliguicota.

Police responded, and the defendants "retreated" to their apartment. Authorities arrested Cuevas and Barrera following a 20-minute standoff.

Lliguicota underwent surgery for severe brain trauma. He had to have part of his skull removed and needed to be induced into a medical coma. Chimbay also required medical treatment for her injuries.

Prosecutors said Cuevas and Barrera had an argument with Lliguicota over a parking space nearly a year before the incident.

In a statement, Katz said, "A 28-year-old man was senselessly stabbed with a knife and beaten with a metal baseball bat by the defendants over a parking dispute. Video of the attack, which was captured by a neighbor, shocked the city."

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