Bronx man, Ezort Stevens strangles long term girlfriend, Linda Manigault and her 10 year old daughter, Heaven Ross to death before shooting self in suicide attempt.
A Bronx man is in critical condition after allegedly strangling a 10-year-old girl and her mother to death before shooting himself in the head in a suicide attempt.
The since described, ‘domestic dispute’ took place at a home they shared in the Belmont section of the Bronx on Saturday.
The NYPD identified the 10-year-old girl as Heaven Ross.
Linda Manigault, 34, who is believed to be her mother, has been identified as the woman who was killed.
The nypost cited sources who identified the gunman, as church going man, Ezort Stevens, 32.
Neither the mother or daughter, who were pronounced dead at the scene, had visible wounds, sources told nypost.
Neighbors said that Manigault was in a ‘long term’ relationship with Stevens- though there are conflicting reports as to whether Ross was the man’s daughter.
The man is currently hospitalized at St. Barnabas in the Bronx.
Ezort Stevens and Linda Manigault were God fearing Church going people:
Police received a call at around 2pm on Saturday shortly after Manigault’s 13-year-old son returned home and found his sister dead.
The boy then called a relative, who then called the police.
When police arrived, they found the man in the couple’s bed with his eyes open and a gun in his hand.
He also had a bullet wound in his head.
According to neighbor Heidi Sanchez, the mother and her boyfriend moved to the home last year. She said that Manigault had four children. Police say the suspect was not the father to either of them.
Neighbors said the couple lived on the top floor of a three-story home.
Neighbors said they never suspected anything was wrong.
‘They seemed like a good, good family,’ told neighbor Ana Candelario, 47 via the nydailynews. ‘They were very religious, always singing church music on Sunday.’
‘This is impossible to believe,’ she added. ‘I can’t begin to understand what happened.’
‘People out here had no words… we didn’t know what to think,’ said a 13-year-old neighbor who was friends with the girl who was killed.
‘When they brought out the first body we were still in shock.’
To date police have offered no possible motive as to what led to the man suffocating a mother and her daughter before seeking to take his own life.
