By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — A man charged with nearly killing a nurse who refused to dance with him at a midtown bar pleaded not guilty on Tuesday when he was arraigned on attempted murder, attempted rape and other charges.
Despite recent jailhouse confessions by Mbarek Lafrem, 30, he entered a "not guilty" plea at his Supreme Court arraignment, which is standard practice in felony cases.
Lafrem initially told police the assault at Social, a Hell's Kitchen bar, was an act of self-defense, claiming the 29-year-old victim was abrasive.
He fractured the woman's skull and broke her jaw, nose and eye socket, according to court papers.
"I went to the bathroom and she started yelling at me," the Pennsylvania construction worker told police when he was arrested. "She was trying to push me so I punched her in the face twice and pushed her back into the stall."
But in interviews at Rikers Island, Lafrem told reporters he had "made a mistake," and regretted his actions.
"I wasn’t myself. I was somebody else," he told the New York Post. "I’ve never acted like that before.
"I wanted to kill myself because she didn't deserve that," he reportedly added. "I wouldn’t want that to happen to my sisters."
Lafrem is scheduled to reappear in court on June 1.
