On Saturday, October 5, 29-year-old Brenda Guadalupe Alfaro-Alcantra was stabbed to death in front of her two-year-old son by her child’s father, Jose W. Funes-Zabala. Her legal order of protection against him had expired only one day earlier. She was found in the basement of her residence on Botsford Avenue in Hempstead later that evening.
Alfaro-Alcantra and Funes-Zabala had been in a violent relationship for about three years before Funes-Zabala was kicked out of the house upon Alfaro-Alcantra’s family members’ discovery of the abuse.
In October of 2023, their son sustained fractures to his femur and his skull, allegedly at the hands of his father. After this incident, Alfaro-Alcantra went to family court to file an order of protection against Funes-Zabala. This order of protection had expired on Friday, October 4, one day before the woman’s murder, according to the police.
The altercation began when Jose found out that Alfaro-Alcantra was dating someone, sparking his anger. The dispute eventually led to the stabbing of Alfaro-Alcantra in front of the couple’s two-year-old child. Covered in his mothers blood, the two-year-old boy stepped outside of the residence to find his other family members, police said.
Community members have expressed concern at the amount of trauma faced by the two-year-old child in witnessing the death of his mother at the hands of his father. Neighbor Larissa Del Gado said, “I can’t imagine what that baby went through. It’s just unbelievable.”
Funes-Zabala was located by police at the local hospital with what appeared to be self-inflicted wounds. Despite this, he was declared physically fit for arraignment and was charged with second-degree murder and endangering the welfare of a child.
Police are urging everyone and anyone who feels unsafe to file an order of protection, a process they say is easily accessible. Police emphasized the many ways in which an order of protection can be acquired, including contacting police or calling domestic abuse hotlines.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached by calling (800) 799-7233.
