Woman stabbed to death in front of two-year-old son by child's father after order of protection against him expired

A Long Island woman was allegedly stabbed to death in front of her two-year-old son by the child's father, just one day after her order of protection against him expired.

Brenda Guadalupe Alfaro-Alcantara, 29, was found in the basement of her Hempstead home with 'multiple stab wounds' just before 8.30pm on Sunday, and was pronounced dead at the scene, Nassau County police reported.

The following day, officers arrested Jose Funes-Zabala, 43, of Roosevelt, on charges of second-degree murder and endangering the welfare of a child in connection with Alfaro-Alcantara's death.

Officers say he stabbed the mother-of-one, with whom he had been in a romantic relationship for three years, 34 times in front of their son after she informed him that she was dating someone else.

'His son was there while it occurred. He witnessed this,' Police Capt. Stephen Fitzpatrick told ABC 7. 'And he stayed there, covered in the blood of his mother.'

The police captain went on to say that Funes-Zabala fled the scene following the brutal homicide, and left his child behind.

The two-year-old was later found covered in blood, walking out of his mother's basement apartment, where he encountered other family members.

Fortunately, Fitzpatrick said, the child was not harmed in the assault.

Yet Funes-Zabala had reportedly injured the child in the past as part of his long history of violent behavior, with family members describing in an online fundraiser how Alfaro-Alcantara's homicide is a 'tragedy years in the making.' 

'For years, we knew something was wrong with him,' Yessenia Funes wrote. 'He would terrorize his little cousins. He attacked another ex, the mother of his older son.' 

But, she said, it wasn't until 2022 that they learned how violent Funes-Zabala could truly be.

That year, his and Alfaro-Alcantara's then-infant baby was rushed to the hospital with a skull fracture, hemorrhaging in his eyes and brain, a broken rib and a broken finger, according to the GoFundMe.

Alfaro-Alcantara then obtained an order of protection against him last year, which expired on Friday - just one day before the suspect returned to the home they used to share to visit his child and allegedly stabbed his ex, Newsday reports. 

The suspect was found following the homicide at a local hospital with self-inflicted wounds, and was declared physically and mentally fit for an arraignment, ABC 7 reports. 

Yessenia remembered Alfano-Alcantara as a devoted mother, who came to the United States in 2021 'to be with the man she thought loved her.'

'She was a committed mother, doing what she could to raise her son with the little she had,' the GoFundMe reads.

It notes that her son 'won't remember her voice or the warmth of her hugs' but is 'still asking for her.'

The child is now in the care of a family friend, who is dealing with the unforeseen costs of taking in a toddler, according to the GoFundMe

As of Tuesday evening, it had raised over $10,000 for the child's future.

Meanwhile, officers are urging anyone in a domestic violence situation to get help.

'I can't emphasize enough that if you feel like an order of protection is still warranted, you should still reapply and have it re-upped,' Fitzpatrick said.

'We're always here,' he noted. 'If you don't want to talk to us, you can call our domestic violence hotline and try to stop this type of violence.'