By Patrick Hedlund and Ben Fractenberg
DNAinfo Staff
LOWER EAST SIDE — A man allegedly murdered his girlfriend inside his Stanton Street apartment Tuesday afternoon, police said.
Miguel Pena, 58, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder after police found his girlfriend Felicia Cruz, 49, dead inside his apartment at 101 Stanton St., near Ludlow Street, around 1:30 p.m., police said.
"He was very jealous. She wanted to leave him," said Jose Jachero, 38, Cruz' ex-husband, who shares a son with her, in Spanish.
"He's a monster. A person in his right mind would not do this."
Cruz also lived on Stanton Street, just a few blocks from where her body was found.
"I cannot believe she's dead," Cruz' mother, Blasina Regalado, 68, said in Spanish, as she sobbed uncontrollably. "I will never forget her. I can't believe it, I can't believe it."
Regalado said her daughter went missing Monday, and she knew something was wrong.
Neighbors and other relatives remembered Cruz, a mother of two, as someone who was well-liked in the neighborhood.
"She was a very nice person," said Cruz' nephew Chris Casado, 19, of the Lower East Side, "She got along with everybody. She didn't look for problems."
Neighbor Fernando Jaquez, 27, said he was "shocked" by the murder. He said he used to babysit the woman's youngest son, who's now 14.
"She was a sweet lady," Jaquez said.
James Hernandez, 35, who also was a neighbor of the victim, said she worked as a home attendant. He also said the woman and her boyfriend had a troubled relationship.
"He was very demanding, very pushy" Hernandez said. "She wanted to leave him, she didn’t want to be with anymore.”
The Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death, police said.
