Man charged with fatally stabbing ex-girlfriend in Harlem had threatened her before with knife: prosecutors
A man arrested for stabbing his ex-girlfriend to death and leaving her in an East Harlem bathtub was said by prosecutors Friday to have threatened her previously with a knife.
Candido Rodriguez, 51, could be heard wailing before he appeared in front of Judge Michael Ryan in Manhattan Criminal Court, where he was ordered held without bail on a murder charge.
Melanie Woods, 33, was found Tuesday evening in the bathroom of her apartment on Second Avenue near E. 117th St. with more than 20 stab wounds to her neck, torso and legs, Assistant District Attorney Marcella Lupski said.
A panicked friend had called police earlier that day to request they check on Woods, who had planned a trip to California but missed her flight, according to a police source.
Lupski painted a portrait of Rodriguez as an angry ex-boyfriend who had been asked repeatedly by Woods to stay away but kept pursuing her.
Woods “reported to family and friends that the defendant had threatened her with a knife,” Lupski said, adding that there had been many “one-sided messages” from Rodriguez that portrayed him as “angry and hostile.”
According to friends and an online resume, Woods attended UCLA, worked at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and then received a graduate degree from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. She also worked for NYC Test and Trace Corps and at the CDC Foundation’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Corps Workforce.
Her family has been inconsolable since learning about the young woman’s death.
“I go from tears to shock to tears to shock,” her sister-in-law Kelly Woods told the Daily News. “She was just such a loved individual. She was so well loved in her community.”
Rodriguez was said to have stalked Woods Tuesday morning, said prosecutors, waiting at the East Harlem building for Woods to come back from walking her dog Delilah.
According to police sources, Rodriguez showed up at the building at 6:15 am in a yellow cab and was seen less than two hours later, at 8:05 am, leaving in another yellow cab.
Loud crashes and raised voices heard by neighbors quieted down by 8 a.m., after which footsteps could be heard going down the stairs, Lupski said.
“The victim did not use her phone again,” said Lupski.
When questioned by detectives, Rodriguez told them he was sleeping Tuesday morning and had not been at Woods’ building, though he admitted they argued in the past about perceived infidelity.
Woods’ former boss Joe Hollendoner, CEO of the Los Angeles LGBT Center, said it was especially disturbing that she had met such a violent end when she was so committed and concerned about the safety of others.
“She was filled with such incredible joy, she was so compassionate, she was one of the most authentic people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting,” said Hollendoner, who was CEO of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation when Woods oversaw fundraisers and other special events from 2016 to 2018.
“It’s not hyberbolic to say that she was the light in every room that she entered,” he said.
Emily Randall, who called Woods her dog’s “godmother” in a Facebook post, told the Daily News that her friend and former co-worker was “one of a kind.”
“She was funny and smart and really excited about almost everything she did,” said Randall. “She just felt so excited about making the world better and bringing other people along with her.”
On an online fundraiser held to pay for bringing Woods’ body home to California and for funeral services, dozens of people posted their memories of her.
“To know Melanie was to love her,” wrote her family. “Melanie was a lover of traveling, a best friend to many, an adventure seeker, a loving dog mom, she was someone who always rooted for the underdog and loved to see people thrive and succeed. She was a vibrant soul who brought out the best in anyone around her, this we will never forget.”
