PORT RICHMOND, Staten Island (PIX11) — A Staten Island man is accused of fatally stabbing his ex-girlfriend’s friend during a drunken night at her home last month, police sources said Tuesday.
Jonathan Griffin, 40, was arrested having a slice outside a popular Bay Street pizzeria at 4:40 p.m. Monday in connection with one of Staten Island’s two murders this year, according to the NYPD.
Griffin is accused of killing 25-year-old Kycell Terry in his ex-girlfriend’s home on Ann Street in Port Richmond at around 3 a.m. on July 2, prosecutors and sources said.
Griffifn allegedly stabbed Terry multiple times in the stomach with a sharp object, and then tried to hide the weapon, according to the criminal complaint. The victim died at the scene.
Sources said the trio was drinking together at the ex-girlfriend’s home, and the woman, 28, was asleep at the time of the attack. She woke up around 7 a.m. and found Terry unresponsive and suffering from stab wounds, then rushed to a neighbor’s apartment to get help.
Griffin was allegedly at the Ann Street home in violation of an order of protection, sources said.
The defendant was charged with murder, manslaughter, aggravated family offense, tampering with physical evidence, criminal possession of a weapon, harassment and criminal contempt, prosecutors said.
Griffin pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on Tuesday. He is being held without bail.
The suspect has 25 prior arrests dating back to 2002, police said. The defendant allegedly fought with a worker at the Castle Deli and Grocery on Castleton Avenue at around 9 pm. on June 20, according to sources and court documents.
Griffin was charged with criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct in connection with the deli incident, sources said.
His attorney could not be reached.
Mira Wassef is an award-winning reporter who has covered news and sports in the NYC area for more than a decade. She joined the PIX11 News digital team in 2022. See more of her work here.
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