Man Charged in Nassau County Double Stabbing Deaths

Rony Yahir Alvarenga Rivera, 22, has been charged with first-degree and second-degree murder in connection with the stabbing deaths of two women in Nassau County, officials announced May 2, 2026.

Nassau Police Chief Patrick Ryder told reporters that both victims died from multiple stab wounds to the neck and torso. Authorities stated that Alvarenga Rivera knew both women.

Timeline of the Killings

Investigators believe the first killing occurred on the night of April 30, 2026, around 9:00 P.M. The victim, a 32-year-old woman, was found stabbed to death at her home on West Mineola Ave. In Valley Stream. Her body was discovered shortly after 3:00 A.M. On May 1, 2026.

A second victim, a 42-year-old woman and mother of two children ages 8 and 1 1/2, was killed while taking out garbage at a Wendy’s restaurant located at 33 Austin Blvd. In Island Park. Officers responded to a 9-1-1 call and found her body outside the eatery around 12:30 A.M. On May 1, 2026. Efforts to revive her were unsuccessful.

Police noted that Alvarenga Rivera also worked at the Wendy’s where the 42-year-old was killed. He rented a bedroom in the same apartment building as the 32-year-old victim in Valley Stream. George Darienzo, Commanding Officer of the Nassau Police homicide unit, stated he was not aware of a specific domestic relationship between the suspect and the Valley Stream victim.

Arrest and Motive

Alvarenga Rivera was apprehended at a 7-Eleven store located at 169 Atlantic Avenue in Lynbrook. According to Darienzo, while officers were at the Valley Stream crime scene, they received information about an individual stopped at the Lynbrook location who had asked to see the police.

Darienzo reported that when the police arrived, he said he had killed somebody that night.

When questioned about a possible motive for the two killings, Darienzo attributed the actions to anger, though he did not provide further elaboration.

Political Response

During a news conference on May 2, 2026, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman criticized immigration policies from prior presidential administrations, describing them as open borders.

Blakeman stated that Alvarenga Rivera, a native of El Salvador, arrived in the United States as an unaccompanied minor a decade ago at the age of 12. Darienzo confirmed the suspect has no known gang connections.

“In 2022, the federal government had a program where any unaccompanied minors that were in the United States automatically would receive papers that let them stay here legally in the form, I believe, of a green card,” Bruce Blakeman, Nassau County Executive

Blakeman, a Republican, is currently running for governor against the incumbent Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul.

The names of the victims were withheld as of Saturday afternoon to allow for the notification of loved ones.