A Bronx man was arraigned Tuesday on a murder charge in the killing of a Crown Heights woman who was stabbed at her own barbecue last month after she refused a man's demands for sex, police said.
Deandre Creary, 25, pleaded not guilty and was ordered held without bail, court records show. He was also arraigned on charges of endangering the welfare of a child and criminal possession of a weapon.
His lawyer declined to comment.
Shakeema Davis, 30, was stabbed three times in front of her 7-year-old son at Lincoln Terrace Park around 12:41 a.m. on Aug. 18, police said. She was pronounced dead at Brookdale Hospital about 40 minutes later.
The arrest came nearly three weeks after the NYPD said it had a person of interest in the killing. Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said on Aug. 20 that someone at the scene had handed detectives a still photograph of the attacker and that investigators had identified a vehicle used to flee.
Kenny said investigators believed the man who stabbed Davis had previously dated her and had called during the night to ask where the party was. He said the man kept demanding sex over the course of the evening and that Davis refused each time.
An argument turned physical after Davis threw a drink on him, according to Kenny. She picked up the grill and struck him with it to push him away, and he pulled out a knife, Kenny said.
Roughly 15 to 20 people attended the barbecue, which Davis started around 5 p.m. the previous evening, police said. Kenny said people in the group tried to grab the attacker, but he swung the knife at them and ran.
