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'I'm not Gonna Have a Lease Anymore,' Man Says After Stabbing Roommate Dead

By  Trevor Kapp Murray Weiss and Aidan Gardiner | September 29, 2016 7:58am | Updated on September 29, 2016 3:18pm

 Carolyn Bush, 26, (upper right) was stabbed to death inside her Ridgewood apartment by her roommate, Render Stetson Shanahan, (upper left) Wednesday night, police said.
Carolyn Bush, 26, (upper right) was stabbed to death inside her Ridgewood apartment by her roommate, Render Stetson Shanahan, (upper left) Wednesday night, police said.
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PicMonkey; Facebook; DNAinfo/Trevor Kapp

RIDGEWOOD — A woman was fatally stabbed by her roommate who then knifed himself in the leg inside their apartment on Stanhope Street Wednesday night, police said.

Carolyn Bush, 25, and Render Stetson Shanahan, 26, were fighting inside 1861 Stanhope St., near Onderdonk Avenue, about 11:50 p.m. before Shanahan repeatedly stabbed her inside her bedroom, police sources said Thursday.

"I heard a high-pitched scream," said neighbor Joshua Cruz, 26, who was outside the building when the attack happened. "He came out and was saying into the phone, 'I don't think I'm gonna have a lease anymore.' He hit a car with a knife in his hand.

"He saw me and said, 'What's your name? I've never met you,'" Cruz added. "I didn't reply, then he tried to lunge at me with the knife, but I blocked it" with a swinging gate.

Cruz said he called 911 as Shanahan paced the block with the bloody weapon in hand.

"He was just walking," Cruz said. "He was a little intoxicated. I wasn't trying to look at his face."

Emergency responders took Bush out of the building and put her on a stretcher.

"There was too much blood," said Pat Castellar, 52, the building's property manager. "Her head was to the side. Her eyes were closed. They tried doing chest compressions, but she wasn't responding."

Bush was pronounced dead at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center.

Shanahan later admitted to police that he killed Bush and stabbed himself, sources said.

"They took him out about 20 minutes later in handcuffs," Castellar said. "He only had on gray underwear. He was barefoot and was limping. He had a gash on his right leg."

Shanahan was taken to Elmhurst Hospital in stable condition. He was charged with murder, criminal possession of a weapon, menacing and criminal mischief, police said.

Shanahan faces up to 25 years in prison if he is convicted, according to the Queens District Attorney.

“This is a disturbing case that ended with the death of a young, innocent woman," said Queens DA Richard Brown in a statement.  "The defendant now faces a lengthy prison term if convicted of this senseless crime.”

Castellar said Bush worked at a local coffee shop and also as a librarian. He said he'd known the pair for about three years and never once heard them fight.

"She was extremely beautiful, very, very pretty," he said. "But he was a great gentleman as well.

"I have 60 apartments, and they were my best tenants, always paid the rent on time, no complaints," he added. "I'm in shock."

— Additional reporting by Kathleen Culliton