Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that David Daniel was convicted by a jury of three counts of murder in the first degree for the stabbing deaths of two tenants and his girlfriend 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: “Three people lost their lives at the hands of this defendant when he became enraged over a rent dispute. He stabbed to death his girlfriend and two tenants, who were each found with multiple stab wounds to their neck and chest. Shortly after committing the murders, Daniel turned himself into a police precinct and confessed that he did a ‘horrible thing.’ This defendant’s actions will have repercussions in three families for generations to come and with today’s conviction he will now face life in prison.”
Daniel, 56, of St. Albans, was convicted 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.
Trial openings took place on May 5 and closings on May 14. The jury deliberated for several hours before reaching a verdict.
Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder set sentencing for June 9, when the defendant faces 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 113th Precinct stationhouse and told officers he had done a “horrible thing” that morning. 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 113th 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.
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