A tight-knit Ithaca community is grieving after 19-year-old Breanne Keane, a high school senior just weeks away from graduation, was fatally stabbed Saturday afternoon inside an apartment complex near Cornell University. Police say a 20-year-old Ithaca man was arrested at the scene and charged with second-degree murder. Keane’s father says he spoke with her on the phone for about 41 seconds less than an hour before the attack, a detail that has haunted family and friends as investigators work to understand what happened.
What police say
The Cayuga Heights Police Department says officers were called around 2 p.m. Saturday for a reported stabbing inside the Pine Hill Apartments at 709 Triphammer Road. First responders treated the victim at the scene, but she died while being transported to a regional trauma center, according to The Cornell Daily Sun. In a statement, Chief Jerry Wright said the department received assistance from the New York State Police, the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office, the Cayuga Heights Fire Department and Bangs Ambulance. Authorities are describing the killing as an isolated homicide and say there is no ongoing threat to the public.
Arrest and charges
Officers arrested 20-year-old Ithaca resident Damian Stewart at the apartment complex and charged him with murder in the second degree. He was arraigned through the Tompkins County Centralized Arraignment Program and is being held in the Tompkins County Jail, 607 News Now reported. Prosecutors are now reviewing the case file to determine the next legal steps. The charge is an accusation, and Stewart is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty in court.
Family and background
Keane’s father, Matthew Keane, told local outlets that his last phone call with his daughter lasted about 41 seconds and that officers first informed him she was alive when they arrived at his home, according to reporting by The Cornell Daily Sun. Breanne was a senior at the Lehman Alternative Community School and had planned to attend SUNY Cobleskill’s canine training program. She was living in housing provided by the youth nonprofit The Learning Web. Family members described her as a musician and athlete who was devoted to animals.
Legal context and next steps
Stewart is facing a second-degree murder charge, a class A-I felony under New York law that covers intentional killings and certain reckless conduct that shows a depraved indifference to human life, as outlined in the state penal code. The New York State Senate details the statute’s core elements. The Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office and Cayuga Heights Police say the investigation remains active and are asking anyone with information to contact law enforcement through the Cayuga Heights Police Department.
