Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
14-Year-Old Girl Found Dead in Queens Home
By
Jen Chung
Published Nov 10, 2008
Modified Nov 10, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Nov 10, 2008
Modified Nov 10, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Yesterday afternoon, a 14-year-old girlwas discovered by her father in their Cambria Heights home in Queens. Sabrina Matthews was "naked from the waist down, with blood gushing from a wound to her throat," in her bedroom, according to the Daily News. The paramedics were unable to revive her.
A neighbor, VIncent Oakley, told the NY Times the father, who went to his house after calling for help, was "crying and...totally out of it," after finding the body. The father also said it looked like "someone had gone in and assaulted her." A friend of Sabrina's said, “I saw her mom collapse right here. They were holding her up. She started yelling and screaming, ‘Who did this to my baby? Why?’ She was yelling, ‘Sabrina, Sabrina, Sabrina,’ over and over.”
Neighbors say that the family moved to Queens from Brooklyn. While there is no history with the Administration for Children's Services, there are records of the police going to the home for domestic incident reports; the Post reports, "A source said those incidents involved the father and one of the victim's three older sisters." The father is a driver for ACS and the girl's mother is a health care worker.
And another neighbor told the Daily News he wouldn't leave his house until the murder was solved, "It takes a lot of nerve to go into somebody's house and slit their throat. It's savage."
Tagged
cambria heights
crime
murder
queens
Sabrina MAtthews
slashing
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
NY's prison system is in crisis. It's driving staff away from the job.
The state is currently struggling with a 56% vacancy rate among prison workers.
By
Emily Russell
Published Oct 4, 2026 at 7:00 a.m. ET
NYPD searching for suspect after fatal stabbing in Queens
Officers responding to a call at the intersection of Jamaica Avenue and 173rd Street around 1 a.m. found 29-year-old Sulimon Ferrier, who had multiple stab wounds to his chest, police said.
By
Ben Feuerherd
News
NYPD searching for suspect after fatal stabbing in Queens
Officers responding to a call at the intersection of Jamaica Avenue and 173rd Street around 1 a.m. found 29-year-old Sulimon Ferrier, who had multiple stab wounds to his chest, police said.
By
Ben Feuerherd
NYPD: 2 suspects in off-duty officer stabbing tried to rob victim
By
Jill Webb
Astoria-born Chip City announces sudden closure days after former CEO sues
By
Catalina Gonella
US judge tosses Trump lawsuit targeting pro-Palestinian protesters in NJ
By
Willow Higgins
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .