A 20-year-old man from Brooklyn, identified as Veo Kelly, has been charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon following a fatal stabbing incident. The victim, 19-year-old Samyia Spain, was allegedly killed by Kelly after she rejected his advances outside a local deli.
According to authorities, Kelly, who was reportedly intoxicated at the time, surrendered himself to the New York police. NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny stated that Kelly had been aggressively pursuing one of the girls, attempting to obtain her contact details. When his advances were rebuffed, the situation escalated into a verbal and physical altercation.
The victim’s family, through a GoFundMe page, revealed that Spain had given Kelly her Instagram handle instead of her phone number, which led to an argument and subsequent fight that moved into the street. Spain was stabbed in the neck and chest and later succumbed to her injuries at a hospital. Her twin sister, who was present during the incident, sustained a minor arm injury.
The twin sister recounted her futile attempts to get Spain away from Kelly. She grabbed her sister’s phone and urged her to leave with her, questioning why she was engaging with Kelly. Spain expressed her disinterest in talking to Kelly, according to her sister’s account.
As Kelly was being led out of the New York Police Department’s 78th Precinct in handcuffs, the victim’s family and friends reportedly hurled insults at him. The victim’s father expressed his grief and disbelief at the incident, questioning how Kelly was allowed to carry a knife.
A man who claimed to have known Kelly for several years expressed his shock at the incident to a local newspaper. He found it hard to believe that Kelly could commit such a heinous act simply because his advances were rejected, describing the act as unforgivable.