UPPER EAST SIDE — A Bronx father was stabbed to death by the lover of his child's mother after he confronted the couple as they walked hand-in-hand on 94th Street, sources said.
Xavier Olivares, 22, had just left his pizzeria job at 1610 York Ave. when he saw his girlfriend, who is the mother to his child, holding hands with Gustavo Rodriguez, 19, near Third Avenue and East 94th Street about 1:15 a.m., sources said.
Olivares, who lives in Soundview, confronted the two, who work together at a restaurant near East 86th Street and York Avenue, and the men quickly started fighting, sources said.
Rodriguez then repeatedly stabbed Olivares in the chest before fleeing the scene, police said. The girlfriend stayed with Olivares as they got a cab and went to Metropolitan Hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said.
The woman he was with wasn't injured in the attack, police said.
Rodriguez, who police said lives in East Harlem, was apprehended later Tuesday, and was charged with murder, felony assault and criminal possession of a weapon.
The woman in the middle of the love triangle initially told investigator one version of the attack, but later revised it, sources said.
A man who worked next to Olivares' apartment building described him as hardworking man who didn't hang out in the streets.
"He was a very nice guy," said Wilson Blanco, 36, who works at an auto shop on Commonwealth Avenue. "We'd never see him out with nobody. He didn't have a problem with nobody."
Blanco added that Olivares lived with his family and that his parents would often bring the workers food.
"I feel bad for the family," he said. "They are really united."
