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‘Mind-boggling’ killings show persistence of NYC’s domestic violence problem
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Brittany Kriegstein
Published Nov 5, 2026 at 6:00 a.m. ET
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Family of Seraphina Pereira
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Published Nov 5, 2026 at 6:00 a.m. ET
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A 44-year-old man doused his wife with rubbing alcohol, set her on fire and then threatened their 11-year-old daughter with a knife on a recent Saturday afternoon in Crown Heights, officials said.
Several hours later, in a quiet corner of the Rockaways, police said they discovered the body of another woman buried in a shallow grave near a cricket field.
Two days after that, officers responded to a report of an assault at a home in Flushing, Queens, and found a woman stabbed nearly 40 times, police said. She died at a local hospital shortly after.
Vanessa Edmonds, 38, Seraphina Pereira, 35 and Tania Morales, 24, were all attacked by their male partners, according to the NYPD. Detectives arrested all three men in the following days, charging them with offenses ranging from murder and attempted murder to assault and child endangerment. Their lawyers either declined to comment or did not respond to inquiries on the pending cases.
New York City’s violent crime rates have dropped to historic lows, but violence against women remains a persistent outlier. Domestic violence assault reports went up by roughly 3% from 2024 to 2025, even as murders and shootings dropped by 19% and 23% in the same time period, according to police data.
So far this year, reported domestic violence incidents are down by only 1% while shootings and murders are down by 11% and 17%, respectively.
Police and experts say there’s no single reason for the recent rash of violent attacks, but advocates and community leaders are demanding that more be done to get the situation under control.
“ Within the past three months, we have buried six women that have been victims of domestic violence,” said Bishop Boyde Y. Singletary, who leads the grassroots organization Brothers in Purple. “It’s mind-boggling.”
The three deadly incidents were not the city's only cases of violence in the home in October, which is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Authorities say a 23-year-old woman died when her partner pushed her and their infant daughter off a 15th-floor balcony in the Bronx. Dozens of other domestic violence incidents were reported to police as well.
NYPD data shows reports of domestic violence across the city have stayed relatively consistent with last year. There have been 48 homicides tied to domestic incidents so far this year, which is even with the same time last year, according to the police department. There have been 24,829 reported domestic violence assaults, which is down by 273 assaults from this time last year, according to the data.
Experts point to a variety of factors as to why reported rates of domestic violence remain stubbornly high.
Sharon Gandarilla-Javier, a professor at CUNY’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a former NYPD officer who worked on domestic violence cases, said those factors could include including increased awareness among police officers when deciding whether to categorize particular incidents as domestic in nature.
“When something bad happens, like what happened [last] month with these cases, commanding officers are pressured to say, ‘Hey, no, we’ve got to figure out what's going on here.’ And so now more eyes and ears are into those types of calls,” she said. “ We have to improve reporting, but we also have to follow through in the efficiency of that report."
According to the NYPD, Commissioner Jessica Tisch revamped domestic violence enforcement efforts through the October 2025 creation of the Domestic Violence Unit — the largest unit of its kind in the country. The initiative has helped centralize these cases under the Detectives Bureau, assigning more tha 450 officers to focus on domestic violence in precincts across the city.
Gandarilla-Javier pointed to more sophisticated technology that helps police make arrests in these cases, including AI and better tracking capabilities. But she also said tech has been a “double-edged sword” for victims, because abusers are better able to track the movements and activities of their partners.
Lives lost and changed forever
When Seraphina Pereira went missing from her home in the Ocean Bay Apartments on Oct. 19, her ex-boyfriend was not the first person her family suspected.
“At the time we were thinking, because she was a little depressed, we thought maybe she walked into the water or … everybody was talking about sex trafficking and stuff, so we thought maybe she was kidnapped,” Pereira’s sister Davonna Gray told Gothamist. “Never once did we think murder.”
Police released Seraphina Pereira’s photo in the hopes that someone would tip them off about her whereabouts. At the same time, Gray said, Pereira’s ex, 26-year-old Rogelio Lozano-Garita, took their two children and her older son from a previous marriage and brought them to his mother’s house.
Gray said Lozano-Garita hid out there until Oct. 26, when police arrested him after discovering Pereira’s body. The medical examiner said she had been shot several times, and the Queens District Attorney’s office alleged that Lozano-Garita carted her body out of the apartment in a wagon, then buried it and reported her missing after claiming a surfer had found her belongings on the beach.
“She actually broke up with him and he just wouldn't leave. He wouldn't just take no for an answer,” Gray said, adding that her sister never mentioned any physical abuse in the relationship. “That's why we're just like, ‘How can you just go from never putting a hand on her to just taking her life like that?’”
Gray said her sister lived for her four children, who are 14, 12, 6 and 5, and her two step-children. The three younger kids are currently living with another aunt as the family tries to pick up the pieces.
“They’ve been breaking down here and there,” Gray said. “We're trying to keep their minds off of things. We're still sending them to school, trying to keep it as normal as possible for them.”
Tania Morales was among the women killed last month by domestic partners, authorities say.
Courtesy of Tania Morales' family
Children factored into almost all of the severe domestic violence cases in October. According to Queens prosecutors, Tania Morales’ estranged husband, Angel Apodaca, stabbed her dozens of times while the couple’s 2-year-old child was home. Police found the toddler with blood on his clothes, but doctors later confirmed he was not harmed in the attack, according to the District Attorney’s office.
Gandarilla-Javier said the presence of children in an abusive relationship often adds tension and can make it harder for women to leave.
“ I think they use the children as bait a lot of times in terms of divorce court, in terms of the order protection,” she said.
Morales’ mother, Aidee Garcia, told Gothamist that her daughter was fiercely protective of her son, but had never outwardly expressed any concerns about her safety, even when they spent time together the Sunday before her death.
“This should be an example for all women who keep quiet — they need to speak out,” Garcia said. “No one imagined this [would happen]. No one.”
Prevention and resources
City officials and advocates alike have been working to remind New Yorkers about the resources on offer to help prevent, escape from and cope with the aftermath of domestic violence.
The Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender Based Violence has Family Justice Centers in each borough, providing access to case management, counseling, mental health services, legal services and immigration help, according to Commissioner Saloni Sethi. The office also runs workshops in housing complexes and high schools across the city to better educate residents on the signs of domestic abuse and the actions they can take to help prevent it.
“ We are really fortunate to have a robust set of resources for survivors and children who might be impacted by domestic violence, or people who might have witnessed this type of abuse or harm,” Sethi said, though she emphasized that no group of agencies can be physically present all the time to address the issue.
New Yorkers can also turn to organizations like We All Really Matter, also known as WARM, or Sisters and Brothers in Purple, which work to prevent gun violence and domestic violence across the city through outreach, education, counseling and housing support.
“ We also teach and raise up the men who've also been in the situation as well,” Singletary said, adding that they do a bulk of their work through the Alpha and Omega Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
On the enforcement side, Gandarilla-Javier said, the NYPD needs to continue to make sure officers are trained to identify and respond to domestic incidents before the violence can escalate.
“ What's the underlying issue of this verbal abuse that's going on? Is it tension within the family? Is it child custody? Is it a divorce? Is it a breakup? Because those are important indicators that you as an officer can use to make choices about how this is going to go, in terms of arrests, in terms of court, in terms of compliance,” she said.
Mayoral spokesperson Sam Raskin called the attacks “horrific.”
“Every New Yorker should be able to walk anywhere in our city at any time of day or night without fear of violence. The Mamdani administration is committed to ensuring that survivors are heard and supported — and that those responsible are held accountable,” he wrote in a message to Gothamist.
Davonna Gray broke down in tears when asked whether her family had received any help from the community or the city.
“I can't explain how helpful they've been. If it wasn't for them, I don't know how me and my sister would've got through this week out here,” she said, explaining Safe Horizon had provided the family with a hotel room to stay in, several of the kids’ schools had donated clothes, shoes and vouchers for food, and several local elected officials had shown up at a vigil for Pereira to extend further support.
“I didn't know a city like this can actually come together as a community and be so helpful,” Gray said.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence and needs support, call 1-800-621-HOPE, or 1-800-621-4673. Support is also available online through the NYC Hope Resource Directory.
Tagged
brooklyn
nypd
public safety
queens
the bronx
Brittany Kriegstein
Brittany Kriegstein covers all breaking news around New York City, with a focus on crime and gun violence. Got a tip? Email Brittany at [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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