Woman charged with murder in death of postal worker at New York deli

NEW YORK: A woman accused of stabbing a postal worker to death at a New York City deli was charged Friday (Jan. 3) with murder. Witnesses said the murder occurred after a dispute over whose turn it was to command.

Jaia Cruz, 24, was being held without bail after being charged with the murder of mailman Ray Hodge. A message seeking comment was left with Cruz’s attorney.

Hodge, 36, was stabbed in the chest, neck and arms Thursday afternoon at a Harlem deli, according to a court complaint. The police found him injured on the ground in his postal uniform.

Another customer, Janet Rich, told the Daily News that Hodge and Cruz argued at the sandwich counter over who was next. Rich said she and another person tried to intervene without success.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service said Hodge was a mail carrier assigned to Manhattan.

Neighbors created a memorial outside his Bronx home on Friday, placing candles around his mail cap.

A resident on his mail route, Alejandro Alarcón, told the New York Post that the mail carrier offered to help customers. Alarcón said Hodge helped him check a package shortly before the postal worker’s death.