STABBING SUSPECT
Hartford man who fled to New York remains in lockup for hearing
Hartford man who fled to N.Y. after New Year’s Day stabbing refuses to face judge.
HARTFORD — A man who police said stabbed a woman 30 times on New Year’s Day in Hartford and kidnapped her 6-year-old son before being captured in New York City refused to show his face in a Hartford courtroom on Wednesday because there were cameras.
Edgar Manuel Maldonado, 23, whose last known address was on Nilan Street in Hartford, remained in the courtroom lockup while Hartford Superior Court Judge Claudia Baio heard arguments about his bail and signed a protective order for the woman he is accused of assaulting and the child he is accused of kidnapping.
Prosecutor Mark Brodsky told the judge that the state’s case against Maldonado was strong and asked for high bail.
“This easily could have been a murder situation,” Brodsky said. “This defendant is a person who has a proclivity toward domestic violence.”
The prosecutor asked for $2 million bail, $1.5 million on the assault case and $500,000 on two violation of probation cases for prior domestic violence convictions. Brodsky said he fears for the victim’s safety and that of the general public.
The judge went higher, setting bail at $2 million for the assault and $500,000 for the violation of probation cases.
Maldonado has been held as a fugitive
from justice since Jan. 2, when he was arrested in Manhattan.
The stabbing occurred during a domestic dispute just before 2 a.m. Jan. 1 in the southwest part of the city, Hartford police said. Callers to 911 reported that a woman covered in blood was in distress and screaming for help near 77 Natick St.
“Please help me, don’t let me die,” she told police, paramedics and firefighters who treated her wounds before taking her to Hartford Hospital.
The victim and her 6year-old son were in a vehicle with Maldonado when the stabbings took place. The victim managed to escape, but Maldonado fled with the boy, the victim’s son from a previous relationship, police said. The victim told police Maldonado attacked her for no reason.
The woman was taken to Hartford Hospital for emergency surgery, and police issued a nationwide alert for the vehicle Maldonado was driving. The victim’s son also was entered into a nationwide database for children who are missing and suspected of being in danger.
About 3 1⁄ hours after
2 the assault, the boy was found wandering on Providence Street in Worcester, Mass., by local police. The vehicle Maldonado was driving also was located in the city, but police did not find Maldonado after an extensive search.
Then, about 5:30 a.m. Jan. 2, police in Hartford got a tip from a “cooperating witness” that Maldonado was at a MacDonald’s in Midtown Manhattan. The NYPD quickly took Maldonado into custody.
It is unclear how Maldonado traveled from Worcester to Manhattan.
Maldonado was brought back to Hartford on Tuesday and charged with criminal attempt to commit murder, seconddegree kidnapping, firstdegree assault and risk of injury to a minor. In addition, he faces the two charges of violation of probation.
Maldonado’s bail was originally set at $800,000.
Initially, the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families took temporary custody of the boy and worked with Connecticut DCF staff and the boy’s relatives.
Police said the woman who was stabbed has been discharged from the hospital and is staying at an undisclosed location.
Courant Staff Writer Christine Dempsey contributed to this story.