MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — A Bronx man charged with slitting the throat of an Italian college student inside her East Harlem apartment last month before stabbing himself has been ordered to undergo a psychiatric exam.
The accused killer, 41-year-old Bakary Camara, was arraigned at the Bellevue Hospital psychiatric ward where his attorney, Seema Iyer, asked for a court-ordered psychiatric examination to determine whether he's fit to proceed to trial. The order was granted.
Camara allegedly told police "I killed Rita," referring to victim Rita Morelli, 36, as he plunged a knife into his own stomach when he was confronted by police inside his apartment.
Camara had penned a suicide note that "detailed a failed relationship he had with Rita Morelli" and also says that he killed her on Nov. 23, according to court papers.
Morelli worked at Caffe Buon Gusto on East 77th Street where colleagues described her as kindhearted and hardworking. She lived on East 120th Street with her boyfriend and attended classes at Borough of Manhattan Community College.
Camara's arraignment was done on scene at the hospital and was not transmitted to the courthouse. He's due back in court on Jan. 16.
