A New York casino employee and mother of two was found dead in an apartment complex in the Bronx on Saturday with a knife stuck in her chest and her throat slit after telling her family days earlier that she feared for her life.
Byana James, 37, was found at Betances Houses NYCHA on East 147th Street at 2:45 p.m. Saturday in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the Bronx, police said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the New York Daily News, all traces of the killer were erased from the knife before it was left inside her.
Her family said she was last heard from on Wednesday, when she sent a message saying she feared for her life.
James’ younger sister said she wrote to a friend that her boyfriend, who has not yet been named, was “behaving strangely and yelling that someone had put marijuana on him.”
Biana James, 37, was found at Betances Houses NYCHA on East 147th Street at 2:45 p.m. Saturday in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the Bronx.
James’ family said she is survived by two children: 12-year-old son Junior and 8-year-old daughter Maya (pictured above).
“She said, ‘I’m afraid. He will kill me!” said her sister, who wished to remain anonymous.
James’ cousin, who identified herself only as Shelley, said the boyfriend eventually returned to the apartment.
‘(She texted me) ‘He’s here! He is back!’ and we haven’t heard from her since she wrote,” she said. “Something was wrong,” she always replies.
Family members tried to contact James Thursday, but she didn’t answer. She was found on Friday evening.
“Her brother came up first, turned the knob, it was open,” Shelly said. “Thank God her mother didn’t get inside. Something just wasn’t right.”
James’ mother, Stacey, is heartbroken at the scene of her daughter’s death.
Stacey said that Biana lived with an ex-con who was also a lifelong friend of her daughter.
Her mother, Stacey, said she lived with an ex-con who was also her daughter’s lifelong friend.
“I can still hear my daughter talking,” said James, 61. “My daughter was loved… People really loved my daughter. What could get out of hand in an argument that couldn’t be handled?
“I’m trying to keep my composure,” James added. “But I know that after a while I will break.”
James’s family said they were survived by two children, 12-year-old son Junior and 8-year-old daughter Maya, who were living with their grandmother at the time of their mother’s death. She worked at a casino in nearby Yonkers.
A few hours later, friends and family lit candles at a small memorial in the apartment to celebrate the life of Biana James.
NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell oversaw a devastating crime wave in her first three months in office.
“She was a loving person,” James’ cousin said. “She left her two children behind. We must break the news to her children. We didn’t think it would happen.”
No arrests have been made so far. The investigation is ongoing.
Crime in New York skyrocketed in 2022 after an increase in crime in 2021.
There were 32 murders in February, three more than in the same month last year.
Many other categories saw a shocking jump, including car theft, which rose nearly 105 percent; grand larceny, which jumped nearly 80 percent from the previous year; robberies, which rose by 56 percent; A 44 percent increase in burglaries and a 22 percent surge in assaults. Rape also rose by a staggering 35 percent in February.
The wave of crime came in the first few months of Mayor Eric Adams’s tenure. The former NYC cop has vowed to stem the tide of incidents on the city’s streets and subway system, which has seen a slew of violent incidents in recent weeks. Former Mayor Bill De Blasio’s policies have contributed to the current crime wave, experts say.
The New York City subway has become the epicenter of a hidden crime wave after an alarming 73.3 percent increase in underground accidents, including 182 in February alone.
Hate crimes also doubled from last year, with attacks against Asians more than tripling and complaints against Jews up a whopping 54 percent year-over-year, from 134 to 207 incidents.
One recent poll showed that nearly 75 percent of all New York City voters consider crime to be a “very serious” problem.