Neighbors and locals have been sharing their reaction to the arrest and murder charges brought against a man following the fatal stabbing of a young woman outside a bar in Fordham Manor in October, as reported.

 

Officers from the 52^nd Precinct were called to the Mama Dora Bar, located at 28 East Kingsbridge Road at 4:10 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 26, after police received a report of “an assault in progress.” A police spokesperson told Norwood News at the time, “Upon arrival, officers were informed that a 35-year-old female sustained multiple stab wounds to the chest.” Officials said the woman was transported to BronxCare Hospital by private means and later succumbed to her injuries.

 

Police later identified the victim as Pamela Almonte Cabrera from the Melrose section of The Bronx, although one local Fordham Manor business owner alleged the victim had been living locally with her boyfriend on Valentine Avenue.

 

As reported, on Tuesday, Oct. 28, police announced the arrest of Cristian Moya, 28, of Kingsbridge Terrace. Moya was charged with murder, manslaughter, and criminal possession of a weapon. He is deemed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law.

On Sunday, Nov. 2, Norwood News asked a local East Kingsbridge Road business owner if he knew anything about what led to Cabrera’s killing. “I’m hearing a lot of different stories,” he said. Referring to Cabrera’s boyfriend, the business owner continued, “They lived up the block on Valentine (Avenue) but she wasn’t a customer. I’d see her around.” During the course of the conversation, he noted that the victim was a good-looking woman, adding, “She was Dominican.”

 

Repeating an alleged account of what had happened according to some residents, he said, “The boyfriend saw the knife and ran away.” However, a source at the NYPD who is close to the investigation told Norwood News the dispute was caught on surveillance camera and that as Moya and Cabrera’s boyfriend became embroiled in a physical dispute, Cabrera came to her boyfriend’s aid and was stabbed. The source said the boyfriend did not in fact flee the scene.

 

On Tuesday, Nov. 11, a female resident of Cabrera’s former home (building) who said she had heard of the East Kingsbridge Road killing added that she knew the victim on a casual basis, offering, “I’d see her in my building. I used to. Wow!” The resident continued, “I can’t tell you about it (the stabbing) because I wasn’t here; I was in Puerto Rico. I used to see her but we didn’t talk like friends, nothing like that. I would see her and her mom. I used to see her in the laundry room, but we didn’t talk a lot.”

The same resident then asked, “When did they kill her? In October? Here in the Bronx? Wow!” She added that a candlelight memorial had been set up outside of the nail salon Cabrera worked at on East Kingsbridge Road but she said she was unsure of the exact address.

 

Meanwhile, another female neighbor of Moya’s who had heard about the murder but was not aware that a man from her building had been charged in connection to it was asked if neighbors had discussed his arrest. “I don’t really speak to my neighbors like that,” she said. After learning more details, the woman added, “Oh, I saw that. I didn’t know it was one of our residents.”

 

Several attempts to obtain a comment from anyone at Mama Dora Bar were unsuccessful. The bar, formerly O’Brien’s Pub, a popular Irish bar and a staple of the community over many years, shut its doors for good at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Mama Dora Bar opened within the last year. Read our previous story here.