Former NYPD officer is arrested for murdering woman jogging on New York path
A Department of Education worker who once worked for the New York Police Department as an officer has been arrested over the brutal murder of a woman.
Katie Suarez, 28, was stabbed in the neck around 8pm on October 30 near Bay 17th Street and Shore Parkway in Bath Beach, New York. She was days away from competing in the New York City Marathon, and was training when she was killed.
Now, police have arrested Sayed Mohassib, 27, and charged him with second-degree murder.
Cops tracked him down from video that allegedly saw him leaving the Brooklyn park at the time of the brutal slaying.
Mohassib said he had no recollection of the attack but told officers he woke up covered in blood with the murder weapon on him, according to the NYPost.
The suspect and the victim both attended Brooklyn College, but police have not confirmed if they knew one another or what their prior relationship was.
Investigators believe that Mohassib, who joined the Marines after working at the NYPD, put the murder weapon in the garbage after the slaying.
The suspect left the Marines and tried to re-join the police force, but was denied and joined the Department of Education instead as a teacher’s aide at PS 200 in Bensonhurs, according to sources.
Sayed Mohassib, 27, was charged with second-degree murder
Katie Suarez, 28, was jogging on a popular waterfront promenade in Brooklyn, when she was knifed in the neck in a savage attack near Bay 17th Street and Shore Parkway in Bath Beach just after 8pm
Suarez’s father had gone out looking for her when he came across his critically injured daughter bleeding out on the nearby grassy area.
The bank teller was rushed to NYU Langone Hospital in critical condition, but the devastating extent of her injuries became clear when she was declared brain dead.
Suarez worked as a cashier at a local bank branch, where she was remembered as a professional and dedicated employee.
One neighbor said she was ‘very professional, very kind’. The neighbor also described her as a ‘ very soft spoken girl, very nice,’ and noted it’s ‘very sad for her.’
The waterfront promenade where the tragic incident took place is popular with walkers, bikers and fishermen and is a residential corner of southern Brooklyn
Suarez had been training for the New York City Marathon when she was killed
Disturbing images captured a scene of gore, with blood smeared on a railing and red stains on the concrete path in Bath Beach
He said her treatment of those around her had left a lasting impression.
‘Nobody is supposed to have [their] life taken, you know, being bad or good, but she was kind of exceptional to me, the way I interact with her,’ he said.
The neighbor described Suarez and her partner as considerate people who regularly walked through the neighborhood and treated others with respect.
‘A good teller and good character, you understand? Looks like a very family-oriented woman,’ he added.
Another resident, Anna Dece, struggled to put her shock into words, saying the violence had struck painfully close to home.
‘I’m very sad. That’s terrible. I’m sad for everybody,’ she said. ‘But this is close. It’s too much right now. It’s a mad world.’
The attack unfolded along the waterfront in Bath Beach, a residential corner of southern Brooklyn where locals use the shoreline paths for evening walks, cycling and exercise.
The stretch around Shore Parkway offers residents access to the waterfront overlooking Gravesend Bay and is part of the wider network of recreational routes running along Brooklyn’s coastline.
Suarez had been training for Sunday’s New York City Marathon when she was knifed and killed.
Disturbing photographs from the scene showed a heavy police presence, with investigators examining the area and blood smeared along a railing near the spot where the young woman was stabbed.
