NYC Police Say Suspect Was ‘Hearing Voices’ Just Hours Before Allegedly Stabbing Family Of 3 To Death

Authorities have placed a New York City teenager in a psychiatric ward after he allegedly heard voices and stabbed his father, his father’s girlfriend, and his 5-year-old half-brother to death early Sunday. 

Jayden Rivera, 19, confessed to Westchester Medical Center employees that he “did something bad and that he had killed somebody,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said, according to the New York Post.

The teenager had reportedly told his mother before the fatal incident that “he was hearing voices” and that he thought his father, Jonathan Rivera, and his father’s girlfriend, Hanoi Peralta, were going to hurt him. 

Jonathan and Hanoi reportedly went on a date Saturday evening while the teenager was babysitting their 5-year-old son, per the outlet.

Neighbors allegedly heard screaming at around 2 a.m. Sunday. A 911 call was made at around 6:40 a.m., and responding officers found the couple and their 5-year-old dead with stab wounds, according to the New York Post.

The boy was essentially “disemboweled” after being stabbed once in the chest and eight times in the torso, Kenny said, per the outlet. (RELATED: NYC Man Allegedly Pushes His Grandmother Out A Window After Stabbing His Mother: REPORT)

Officers found a small kitchen knife and a dented pot. Kenny added that the victims were first stabbed and then “beaten with [a] pot to the point that it was dented.” 

The 5-year-old’s grandfather, Miguel Rivera, told the New York Post, “My heart is broken for my baby, my youngest grandson.” He added, “I feel this is not supposed to happen. The day they told me I was thinking this was like a movie or something. But, no. Now it’s real.”

Eusebio Baez, a family friend, described Jonathan Rivera as “such a sweet guy with such a golden heart,” noting that he “didn’t come from a lot, didn’t have a lot, but sacrificed everything for his kids,” per the outlet.