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Woman Found Dead in Williamsburg Was Fatally Stabbed, Boyfriend Arrested

By  Janon Fisher Murray Weiss and Ben Fractenberg | October 31, 2013 4:01pm | Updated on October 31, 2013 7:04pm

 Merceda Young, 35, was found dead, stabbed in the neck, in a Williamsburg parking lot.
Bronx woman found dead in Williamsburg
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BROOKLYN — Police arrested the boyfriend of a hardworking mother of two who was found stabbed to death in a Williamsburg parking lot, police said Thursday.

Alex Jeffrey, 30, of Brooklyn, repeatedly stabbed Merceda Young, 35, in the neck and then dumped her body next to Boro Park Lumber Yard & Home Center on Division Avenue, according to the NYPD.

Young, who lived with her teenage son and 10-year-old daughter in The Bronx, was found at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday underneath a quilted moving blanket.

Her neighbors in Unionport were stunned by her death.

"I'm devastated," next door neighbor Kevin Hugget, 23, said.

People described her as a devoted mother, who they would see leave for work early in the morning and return every afternoon to pick up her daughter from the bus stop.

Young, who was born in Manhattan, studied Political Science at Barber-Scotia College in North Carolina, according to an online biography.

She graduated in 2010 from a YWCA-NYC Women's Empowerment Network seminar that paired her with a mentor from the law firm of Dewey & LeBoeuf and taught her the basics of the programs in the Microsoft Office suite. She was chosen to give the keynote address at the conclusion of the program.

"Young believes that the true meaning of giving is giving of yourself," her YWCA bio said. "Her intent is to reach the hearts and minds of many."

Young's goal was to earn her degree in Nutrition and Dietetics and one day become a health educator, according to the website.

"We are saddened to learn of the brutal murder of Merceda Young," YWCA president Danielle Lee Moss said. "Our hearts go out to her family and friends during this difficult time."

Jeffery was charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon, police said. Attempts to reach him or his representatives were unsuccessful.