TIMES SQUARE — The family is speaking out after a man was stabbed to death near Times Square last week.<\/p>\n
The 17-year-old suspect told detectives that he attacked his victim as part of a ‘mess with crackheads’ TikTok trend.<\/p>\n
The sister of 39-year-old Leonides Baez said Baez was sleeping on a ledge when three teenage suspects attacked him.<\/p>\n
The sister said Baez had been in New York City for about two and a half weeks when he was stabbed to death.<\/p>\n
She said he was a free spirit who biked up and down the East Coast.<\/p>\n
“He was just kind of someone who didn’t want to be told what to do. Just wanted to live the free life. He was a loving person. Great man, he had so much life ahead of him,” she said.<\/p>\n
Investigators say that the attack happened on West 43rd Street at 11:30 p.m. last Monday, just steps from the entrance <\/a>to the Stephen Sondheim Theatre.<\/p>\n His family said they saw surveillance video of the killing, which started with the group waking him up and throwing urine at him.<\/p>\n One teen is in custody, who is believed to be the stabber, and two others have not been found.<\/p>\n The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said the 17-year-old will be charged as an adult with murder.<\/p>\n The DA’s office said just one day before he allegedly killed Baez, the teen allegedly slashed a newsstand employee in Midtown.<\/p>\n Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News<\/p>\n