Press Release

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that David Daniel was sentenced today to life in prison without the possibility of parole after he was convicted by a jury of three counts of murder in the first degree. Daniel stabbed to death his girlfriend and two tenants living inside his St. Albans home in November 2023. The defendant told investigators the attacks were prompted by the tenants’ failure to pay rent and an argument with his girlfriend.

District Attorney Katz said: “This defendant was found guilty of a devastating triple murder, taking the lives of three people over a rental dispute and a lover’s quarrel. The pain he inflicted on the families and loved ones left behind is immeasurable and will last generations. I commend the dedicated members of my Homicide Bureau whose tireless work ensured that the defendant was brought to justice. Today’s sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole reflects the gravity of these horrific crimes and ensures that the defendant is held fully accountable for the devastation he has caused.”

Daniel, 56, of St. Albans, was convicted on May 15 by a jury of three counts of murder in the first degree, three counts of murder in the second degree, tampering with physical evidence and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree.

Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder, who presided at trial, sentenced the defendant today to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

DA Katz said that, according to the charges and trial testimony, on November 14, 2023, at approximately 7:00 a.m., Daniel arrived at the 113^th Precinct stationhouse and told officers he had done a “horrible thing.”

The defendant told police that he was having trouble with his tenants, who had not paid rent in a long time. The defendant also believed his girlfriend was about to move out of the residence and end their five-year relationship.

At approximately 7:16 a.m., officers from the 113^th Precinct went to Daniel’s home on Milburn Street. In the basement, they found Daniel’s tenants – 57-year-old Wayne Thomas and 55-year-old Evette Sweeney – lying face up on the floor. Each had sustained multiple stab wounds. Officers found Daniel’s girlfriend, 51-year-old Coleen Caesar Fields, faced down on a bed in a second-floor bedroom. She also had sustained multiple stab wounds.

The three victims were pronounced dead at the scene.

Daniel was seen leaving his home at approximately 6:20 a.m. on November 14 holding a garbage bag and entering a car. The murder weapon was never recovered.

Assistant Deputy Bureau Chief Kenneth Zawistowski of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau prosecuted the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys John Kosinski, Bureau Chief, and Karen Ross and Jonathan Selkowe, Deputy Bureau Chiefs, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Shawn Clark.