Queens Man Kills Mother With Machete, Runs Into Ocean to Evade Arrest

A 26-year-old New York City man has been charged with murder after brutally killing his mother with a machete in their Far Rockaway home and then attempting to evade arrest by running into the Atlantic Ocean.

The suspect, Armel Crawford, was arraigned on Wednesday on charges of second-degree murder and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon in connection with the death of his 61-year-old mother, Joanne Crawford, a retired city corrections officer.

Police discovered the victim’s body inside the residence around 10:40 a.m. on Tuesday.

Prosecutors detailed the gruesome nature of the attack in court. Queens Assistant District Attorney Lindsey Ruzza stated that the victim sustained 11 stab wounds.

One stab wound to the abdomen penetrated through the liver and exited the body, while the attacker also shoved the machete blade down his mother’s throat, splitting her tongue in half and perforating her trachea.

Following the alleged attack, Crawford fled the home and ran onto the beach and into the water, seemingly to escape capture.

“The defendant was taken into custody at Beach 62nd Street and Rockaway Boardwalk, where he had run into the water presumably to evade capture,” Ruzza said.

One police source described the desperate move, saying it “looked like he was trying to kill himself”.

The mother and son had a strained relationship, with police having responded to domestic disturbance complaints at the home on multiple occasions, including twice earlier this year, though none had escalated to violence. Crawford has no prior criminal record.

Family members revealed that Crawford harbored resentment toward his mother due to her career as a corrections officer, which left her with little time for him during his childhood. “He never was a troubled kid outside; he just had problems with her,” said the accused killer’s cousin, Barry Crawford.

“I think his biggest problem with her is that she worked for corrections, she was a retired corrections officer, so she was never home”. He further explained that Crawford “felt that she never gave him the quality time that he desired”.

Judge Sharifa Milena Nasser-Cuellar ordered Crawford held without bail . The case remains under investigation, and the accused is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.