A person of interest has been taken into custody by the NYPD in connection to the savage assault on Diana Agudelo, a 44-year-old mother on Randall's Island. The individual is being interrogated at the 25th Precinct, and charges are anticipated. Agudelo, after returning from her job at a Manhattan museum last Friday, sustained multiple strikes to her face and head, resulting in critical injuries, as reported by ABC7NY.
It was during her regular commute home on her e-bike that the victim, Agudelo, encountered her attacker, being discovered only by chance when after 5 a.m. the next morning, she was found by a passerby in an area notably devoid of any surveillance cameras. As Gothamist notes, Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced the arrest, hinting at a particularly aggressive investigative approach which "identified a person that we believe to be responsible for that assault."
Agudelo remains in a medically induced coma. Her recovery is uncertain — she already underwent emergency brain surgery and was slated for more. Stephanie Rodas, Agudelo's daughter, described the emotional toll of the situation, saying to Gothamist, "It's like a living nightmare." Found with her jewelry intact, Agudelo's personal items, including an e-bike and one of her black Skechers sneakers, have been recovered, with the former yielding crucial forensic evidence.
According to details obtained by ABC7NY, Agudelo's e-bike was apparently discarded in the East River by the suspect and later retrieved by a dive team. The suspect threw her sneaker away, only to be found in a trash can by first responders near the scene of the crime, close to a psychiatric hospital on Randall's Island. The NYPD had previously increased the reward to $10,000 for any information leading to an arrest.
