Press Release

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that a Queens man has been formally charged with fatally stabbing his partner inside their Jackson Heights apartment after an early morning argument on Friday, July 3rd. The defendant then allegedly stabbed himself multiple times in the abdomen. He is currently in the hospital.

District Attorney Katz said, “The defendant in this case is accused of committing a despicable act of violence against a woman he supposedly loved. In the heat of an argument, the defendant allegedly stabbed the victim to death in front of the woman’s daughter. The defendant is hospitalized, but in custody and will be held accountable for his alleged brutal actions.”

The District Attorney’s Office identified the defendant as Carmelo Mendoza, 41, of 34th Road in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens. Mendoza, who remains hospitalized, is awaiting arraignment before a Queens Criminal Court Judge on a complaint charging him with murder in the second degree, assault in the second degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree. If convicted, Mendoza faces up to 25 years to life in prison.

District Attorney Katz said that, according to the charges, on Friday, July 3, 2020, in the early morning hours, Mendoza, who is the boyfriend of the victim, Yaqueline Collado, was inside their apartment when they became engaged as the couple argued. During the dispute, the 45-year-old woman told her 19-year-old daughter, who also lives in the apartment, to leave so she would not hear them argue.

Continuing, according to the complaint, said DA Katz, as the daughter was inside of her room she heard her mother scream her name. The young woman immediately exited her room and rushed toward the couple. She allegedly saw Mendoza stab her mother repeatedly in the chest, neck and torso. The daughter attempted to stop the defendant by throwing items at him and she tried to push him off of her mother. Mendoza then fell to the floor, but got back up and allegedly continued to stab Ms. Collado. The daughter then heard her mother say to her, in Spanish, “I’m dying, leave.” The daughter, whose leg was slashed when she tried to intervene, then ran out of the apartment and began banging on her neighbors doors, screaming for help. The young woman then called her boyfriend and 911.
District Attorney Katz added that, according to the charges, when police arrived at the location they were informed by the victim’s daughter that Mendoza was still inside the apartment. Upon entering the unit, police officers found the defendant lying on top of the victim and observed the victim lying in a pool of blood with a kitchen knife nearby.

Ms. Collado and the defendant were both immediately transported to a local Queens hospital where as a result of the approximately 14 knife wounds, Ms. Collado was pronounced dead. The defendant is being treated for self-inflicted injuries.

The investigation was conducted by detectives assigned to the New York City Police Department’s 115th Precinct.

Assistant District Attorney Suzanne Bettis, of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau, is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Brad Leventhal, Bureau Chief, Peter J. McCormack III, Senior Deputy Bureau Chief, John Kosinski and Kenneth Appelbaum, Deputy Bureau Chiefs, Robert S. Ciesla, Section Chief, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Daniel A. Saunders.