A Brooklyn man has pleaded not guilty on Sunday to murder among other charges for stabbing his girlfriend and two children, one of whom is his daughter. The incident took place at a Staten Island hotel on Wednesday.
In a report by Yahoo News, the man has been identified as Michael Sykes, 25, while the victims have been identified as Rebecca Cutler, 26, her older daughter, Ziana Cutler, 1, and her daughter with Michael, four-month-old Maliyah Sykes. Miracle Cutler, the other 2-year-old daughter, was injured but survived the incident.
Michael's lawyer, Phil Ohene, said in a statement, "The defendant denies the allegations as set forth by the district attorney." Ohene added that his client has "never been involved in the criminal justice system" noting that this has been Michael's first arrest, New York Daily News reported.
The other charges brought against Michael are attempted murder, assault, robbery, engendering the welfare of a child, and criminal possession of a weapon aside from murder.
Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon said in a statement that the "heinous and violent nature of this tragic crime" has made the case a top priority for his office. He added that the public should know his staff intends to "vigorously prosecute the case against this murderer."
Michael was arrested three days after the crime at a Ramada Inn, an area where the city has been housing the family in the past. Chief of Detectives for the New York Police Department, Robert Boyce, said that security cameras were able to show that Sykes entered the room where the family was staying. He reportedly left the room a few minutes then took a bus to get to a ferry that was taking passengers to Staten Island and Manhattan.
Police said that Michael and Rebecca had an argument on Tuesday and according to a criminal complaint, the former forcibly took the cellphone of the latter. Authorities currently looking at the possibility that Michael had been jealous with the former partner of Rebecca, who is the father of her two older children, The New York Times reported.
He is being held at the Rikers Island jail complex and is due back in court this February 16, Tuesday.
