A Roosevelt man has been sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for fatally stabbing his ex-girlfriend in front of their two-year-old son inside her Hempstead home in 2024, according to Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly.
Jose William Funes-Zabala, 44, pleaded guilty on October 29, 2025, before Judge Howard Sturim to Murder in the Second Degree, an A-I felony, and Endangering the Welfare of a Child, an A misdemeanor. Prosecutors had recommended a sentence of 25 years to life.
Authorities said an order of protection against Funes-Zabala, issued on behalf of 29-year-old Brenda Guadoloupe Alfaro Alcantara, expired on October 4, 2024.
The following day, October 5, at approximately 5:58 p.m., Funes-Zabala went to Alfaro Alcantara’s basement apartment on Botsford Street in Hempstead to visit their young son. Prosecutors said an argument began after the defendant learned that the victim had started dating someone new.
During the dispute, Funes-Zabala stabbed Alfaro Alcantara approximately 35 times in her bedroom while their child was present, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
About an hour later, at approximately 6:58 p.m., he was seen leaving the apartment with what appeared to be blood on his face. He fled the scene, leaving the child behind. The toddler was not physically injured.
Family members later discovered Alfaro Alcantara and the child inside the apartment after being unable to reach her.
Funes-Zabala was arrested the following day, October 6, 2024, at Nassau University Medical Center by members of the Nassau County Police Department Homicide Squad.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Bureau Chief Ania Pulaski of the Homicide Bureau, under the supervision of Bureau Chief Daryl Levy and Executive Assistant District Attorney for the Litigation Division Kevin Higgins. Funes-Zabala was represented by Brian Carmody, Esq.
Photo: NCPD.
