The public relations executive accused of brutally stabbing his girlfriend in their Lower East Side apartment last month was arraigned on murder charges yesterday. According to court papers, Raul Barrera, 33, told the police, "We were fighting over a butcher knife. I hit her in the back. There's a lot of blood... She is bad and that's why I'm here to turn myself in."
Barrera and Sarah Coit, 23, were allegedly involved in an altercation at 63 Clinton Street that became so heated numerous 911 calls were made (police response was delayed in part because some callers gave the wrong address). By the time the cops arrived, they found Coit's body so mutilated that her head was nearly decapitated and her internal organs were showing. Barrera was fleeing the city but his father convinced him to turn himself in.
Barrera, faces up to 25 years if convicted, has a prior history of domestic violence incidents and tormenting girlfriends. Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance said, “The tragic events that led to today’s indictment demonstrate how quickly a domestic dispute can turn deadly... Domestic violence is vastly underreported, and constitutes both a criminal justice and a public health crisis. I urge victims of domestic abuse to break the cycle of silence: Tell a friend, tell a family member and tell the authorities."
