A Valley Stream man has been indicted on murder charges after prosecutors say he stabbed two women to death in separate attacks just hours apart in Valley Stream and Island Park.
Rony Yahir Alvarenga-Rivera, 22, was arraigned Tuesday on charges of Murder in the First Degree and two counts of Murder in the Second Degree in connection with the deaths of 32-year-old Eddy Raquel Hernandez Castillo and 42-year-old Ana Maria Del Aguila-Cordova.
According to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, Alvarenga-Rivera pleaded not guilty and was remanded to custody. He is scheduled to return to court on July 8. If convicted, he faces a potential sentence of life in prison without parole.
Prosecutors allege the violence began on the evening of April 30 at a home on West Mineola Avenue in Valley Stream, where Hernandez Castillo lived with the defendant’s uncle. Authorities said Hernandez Castillo and the defendant had been living in the same house for approximately six months, with her apartment located above his basement bedroom.
Investigators allege that at about 9 p.m., Alvarenga-Rivera became upset by the sound of Hernandez Castillo walking upstairs in high heels. Prosecutors said he confronted her and stabbed her more than 50 times, killing her.
After the attack, authorities said Alvarenga-Rivera boarded a Long Island Rail Road train and traveled to a Wendy’s restaurant on Austin Boulevard in Island Park, where he worked alongside Del Aguila-Cordova.
According to prosecutors, the defendant and Del Aguila-Cordova had a history of workplace disagreements. When he arrived at the restaurant and found the doors locked, investigators allege he waited behind the building near the dumpster area.
At approximately 12 a.m. on May 1, prosecutors said Del Aguila-Cordova went outside to take out the trash. Authorities allege Alvarenga-Rivera attacked her near the dumpsters, stabbing her more than 30 times.
Nassau County police responded to a 911 call at approximately 12:27 a.m. and found Del Aguila-Cordova dead at the scene.
Several hours later, at approximately 2:52 a.m., police responded to a 911 call from a 7-Eleven store in Lynbrook, where they found Alvarenga-Rivera with cuts on his hands and blood on his clothing.
Information obtained during that investigation led detectives to the Valley Stream residence, where they discovered Hernandez Castillo dead near the side entrance of the home.
Police recovered knives believed to have been used in the attacks, along with two cell phones, at the Wendy’s location in Island Park, according to prosecutors.
Alvarenga-Rivera was arrested by Nassau County Police Department homicide detectives on May 1.
The charges are accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
