A man was charged after a Christmas party that saw a mom killed and her son stabbed
Police said Josue Quino became violent after "drinking heavily" at a family gathering in Philadelphia's Olney neighborhood. He was charged with murder, attempted murder, and other offenses.
Police identified the man they say fatally stabbed his girlfriend in front of children, also injuring the woman’s 14-year-old son, in their Olney home Christmas morning.
Josue Quino was arrested Wednesday at about 3:25 a.m. and charged with murder, attempted murder, terroristic threats, aggravated assault, simple assault, corruption of minors, endangering the welfare of children, recklessly endangering another person, and possessing instruments of crime. There was no attorney listed in online court records for Quino.
The investigation is ongoing, police said.
There had been a family party at the house, where six children between the ages of 8 and 16 were present. Police said the preliminary investigation revealed that Quino, 33, had been “drinking heavily” and fighting with other guests before turning his anger toward his girlfriend, identified Thursday as Juana Us-Perez, 35.
Quino allegedly grabbed a knife in the kitchen and when Us-Perez’s 14-year-old son, whom police did not identify, tried to disarm him, he stabbed the boy in the right thigh.
Quino then got another knife, stabbed Us-Perez, and “chased her outside,” police said.
Next door, the García family was sitting in their living room, watching 2-year-old Danya open her Christmas presents when they heard the screams.
The family said they looked outside and saw Quino trying to pull Us-Perez under a red van. They could also see into their neighbor’s home and noticed blood on the stairs and carpet and children screaming and crying. They called 911.
When police arrived at the scene on the 5600 block of North Mascher Street shortly before 3:30 a.m. Wednesday, they found Us-Perez outside, bleeding heavily from her abdomen, and Quino standing over her.
Us-Perez was taken to Einstein Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 3:36 a.m. Her son also was taken to Einstein, where police said he was in stable condition.
“Heartbroken by what appears to be an act of intimate partner violence that has robbed several children of their mother,” Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner tweeted Wednesday.
The children identified Quino to police as the man who stabbed Us-Perez, Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said Wednesday. Police said Wednesday the couple and children lived in the Olney home together and were related “in some way.”
The García family was thinking of those children Wednesday and wondering where they would find a home.
“She wanted to help them but she couldn’t do anything at the time,” Maria García, 19, said, translating what her mother Eréndira García explained in Spanish about the Christmas morning incident.
From the García home, the family could still see a wreath on their neighbor’s bloodstained white door.