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.