Danielle O'Hara

•

Feb 11, 2026, 12:44 PM

•

Updated

More Stories

Disabled train causes LIRR delays, cancellations and reroutes

00:33

NY Attorney General Letitia James urges credit card companies to help crack down on illegal vape sales

02:14

King Charles to visit NYC’s 9/11 Memorial; expect road closures, tight security

01:57

Lawrence to add more than 100 cameras as part of newly approved comprehensive outdoor surveillance camera system

00:18

Motorcyclist killed, pickup truck driver injured in Riverhead crash

00:30

Middle Island charity reports donations stolen from community center

A Roosevelt man was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for fatally stabbing his ex-girlfriend in front of their 2-year-old son in Hempstead in Oct. 2024, Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced.

Jose William Funes-Zabala, 44, pleaded guilty on Oct. 29, 2025, to second-degree murder and endangering the welfare of a child.

Prosecutors said Funes-Zabala went to the Botsford Street basement apartment of Brenda Guadoloupe Alfaro Alcantara, 29, on Oct. 5, 2024, one day after an order of protection against him had expired. After learning she had begun dating someone new, he stabbed her approximately 35 times in her bedroom while their toddler watched. The child was unharmed.

Funes-Zabala fled the scene and was arrested the next day at Nassau University Medical Center.

DA Donnelly called the killing “unimaginable” and said Alfaro Alcantara will be remembered as a devoted mother loved by her family.