NOW A NEW RAP: MURDER
Stab suspect got treatment, not prison
A Washington Heights woman who was sent for mental-health treatment instead of to prison for a pair of assaults failed to appear in court for a status update this week — because she was allegedly stabbing someone to death, The Post has learned.
The deadly turn of events came as Kaylha Armand, 20, was also facing prosecution in a violent robbery earlier this year, records show.
“How many chances can you give a person before you realize jail is the only solution?” an outraged cop told The Post. “Maybe if the judge would’ve figured this out, the victim in this case would still be alive.”
Armand was busted on Tuesday and charged with second-degree murder in the killing of Fateema Boston, 20, inside Armand’s Washington Heights apartment. Cops alleged that the motive involved a dispute but didn’t elaborate.
Armand and Boston — a mother of two boys, ages 1 and 3 — previously lived together in a group home, the victim’s family said, although they didn’t know what she was doing at Armand’s home.
Armand’s criminal record dates back to a 2016 attack by residents of a youth mental-health facility on a staffer there, according to law-enforcement sources.
In that incident, Armand and at least two other teens bashed the worker with an ottoman, according to an eight-count indictment that charged Armand with first-degree gang assault and related charges.
Armand was then sent to Rikers Island, where she was later charged with attacking a correction officer in 2018, records show.
Armand pleaded guilty in both cases in December, and prosecutors sought to have her sentenced to one to three years in prison, according to the Bronx District Attorney’s Office.
But state Supreme Court Justice April Newbauer held off imposing the sentence and instead ordered Armand to undergo mental-health treatment and check in periodically in court, the DA’s Office said.
“Miss Armand has since failed at several programs, and at each instance, an ADA recommended the jail alternative be imposed, but it was not,” the office said in a statement. “She was due back in court on Aug. 18 for an update but did not show and a bench warrant was ordered.”
Meanwhile, Armand was busted in Queens on May 30 when she was charged with a robbery that left the victim injured, court records show.
Takayla Boston, a cousin of the stabbing victim, was outraged at Armand’s lenient treatment.
“If she wasn’t allowed to walk free, my cousin would still be here with us,” said Takayla, 16. “If you all are going to claim she’s crazy, put her in the nuthouse.”
An aunt, Teshona Boston, said Fateema was a victim of domestic violence who had temporarily lost custody of her kids and was living in a shelter for battered women.
But Fateema had recently gotten a job, arranged to move into an apartment, and was about to get her children back from foster care.
“She was getting her life together,” Teshona said.
A spokesman for the state court system defended Newbauer’s handling of Armand’s case.
“Judge Newbauer, based on the facts and circumstances of the charges, felt that a supervised release program would both be beneficial to the defendant and ensure her return to court,” said the spokesman, Lucian Chalfen.