Kin fury at jailed cig slayer
The lowlife bum who fatally stabbed a man over a cigarette after a dispute in Hell’s Kitchen was dubbed a “f--king animal” by the victim’s parents in court at his sentencing Thursday.
John Wright, 37, was sentenced to 19 years in prison by a Manhattan Supreme Court judge after pleading guilty to manslaughter for fatally stabbing Carlos Rosario, 24, after the victim’s coworker asked Wright for a cigarette on Dec. 6, 2022, on West 42nd Street near Ninth Avenue.
But before Judge April Newbauer slapped the nearly two-decade prison sentence on the homeless man, Wright heard from Rosario’s parents, who berated him for several minutes — and even made a veiled threat that they would be waiting for him when he got out of prison.
“John, why did you steal my son from me? Why couldn’t you just walk away? You f--king animal!” Melissa Davilla, Rosario’s mother, screamed during a victim impact statement.
“You won’t be laughing. You won’t be laughing. Over a cigarette, John,” Davilla said, referring to when Wright was grinning after being arrested.
Rosario was standing with a co-worker outside a store when Rosario’s colleague asked Wright’s girlfriend for a cigarette — leading to a verbal dispute between the groups, prosecutors said.
Wright and two others then chased Rosario and the co-worker, punching and kicking him before Wright grabbed a knife out of a backpack and stabbed Rosario once in the chest, according to court documents.
Wright pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the first degree in February.