An off-duty NYPD officer was fatally stabbed in her Bronx apartment early Monday by her estranged husband, leaving her family heartbroken and fellow officers stunned.
Arianna Reyes-Gomez, 31, was stabbed multiple times all over her body by her husband Argenis de Jesus Baez Pizano in her home on Grand Concourse near E. 156th St. at about 2:50 a.m., according to cops. The victim managed to call a relative, who then dialed 911.
Medics arrived at her home and attempted to save her, but she died on the spot.
Argenis de Jesus Baez Pizano, 34, who lives in Sedgwick Ave. in the Bronx, surrendered to police and was later charged with murder, manslaughter, and criminal possession of a weapon. He is presently awaiting his arraignment.
The slain NYPD officer’s brother, Pedro Reyes, 46, told the Daily News that the couple has a son who will turn four in August and has been living with relatives in Georgia.
“We don’t know what was going on with them, we just knew they were separated,” Reyes said of his sister and Pizano. “We can’t believe it.
He continued, “We’re feeling awful about this, we are in shock, we have no words.”
“She was so helpful, she helped everyone,” the bereaved brother explained. “She loved being a police officer.” She was studying to be a sergeant.”
The murdered NYPD cop is survived by three sisters, two brothers, and a son. Pedro Reyes also said a few words about his sister’s son.
“She was really a single mother.” Pedro Reyes told The News, “and lived in Georgia where he was being taken care of by his grandparents and aunts. He was going to come back to New York in September to start school.”
Reyez-Gomez’s sister, Norma Reyes said the couple were still married but had been separated for eight months. The officer joined the NYPD in April 2019 and was assigned to a Brooklyn transit district.
By late Monday morning, scores of the victim’s coworkers, including NYPD Chief of Transit Jason Wilcox, had gathered outside the slain officer’s building in grief. The murder, according to Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, demonstrates how domestic violence affects all aspects of society.
“We’ve had far too many cases of domestic violence homicides in the Bronx,” Gibson said. “It can happen to anyone, even police officers, even first responders. So it just reminds us that we have to keep doing this work, we have to keep focusing on resources and programs for victims of domestic violence, giving them a safe space and an outlet to go to.”