Cops bust boyfriend accused of hacking NYC mom to death, stabbing her son

A crazed Bronx goon charged with hacking his girlfriend to death and viciously slashing her 16-year-old son is now behind bars.

Juan Rivas, 45, was arraigned on murder, attempted murder, assault and weapons charges Sunday in the shocking Saturday morning Highbridge attack that left 42-year-old Yesenia Hall dead and her son recovering at Lincoln Hospital.

Bronx Judge Yadhira Gonzalez-Taylor ordered Rivas held at Rikers Island without bail until his next court date.

Rivas was arrested around 2:30 p.m. Saturday, just hours after police said he viciously attacked Hall and her teen son — who has not been identified — inside their Sherman Avenue apartment.

Rivas allegedly used a knife to repeatedly stab Hall in the neck and torso and to stab the 16-year-old boy in the neck and back.

The boy is listed in stable condition, cops said.

Juan Rivas, a 45-year-old defendant, during his court arraignment, flanked by a police officer and an older woman.
Juan Rivas at his arraignment in Bronx Criminal Court on March 1, 2026.TOMAS E. GASTON

Yesenia Hall, a woman with long dark hair, wearing a pink top, stares directly at the camera.
Yesenia Hall, 42, who was found stabbed to death inside her Bronx aparment.
 

Rivas Juan, the defendant, in court arraignment at the Bronx criminal court.
Rivas was charged with murder, manslaughter, possession of a weapon and attempted murder.TOMAS E. GASTON

Police and detectives at the scene of a stabbing at 956 Sherman Avenue.
Investigators outside the scene of the grisly NYC murder.Tomas E. Gaston for NY Post

A blood-stained knife lies on the ground next to several cigarette butts.
A bloody knife was recovered immediately after the gruesome attack.Tomas E. Gaston for NY Post

Blood spatter on a tiled floor after a stabbing incident.
Blood seen on the ground at the scene of the murder and stabbing.Tomas E. Gaston for NY Post
“I heard the boyfriend yelling, ‘I’m gonna stab you,’” neighbor Shantrice Diamond, 17, told The Post after the incident. “I heard the woman’s voice. She was screaming in pain. She was screaming, ‘Stop! Stop!’

“After that, she said, ‘I am gonna die, I’m gonna die,’” the teen said. “And like two minutes later I heard nothing but silence.”

The victims were attacked around 6:30 a.m., according to police.

The maniac then changed his clothes and fled, authorities said

What do you think? Post a comment.

Officers from the 44th Precinct had rushed to the 956 Sherman Ave. address after receiving a 911 call about an assault from a neighbor who reported “blood coming from underneath the apartment door.”

When cops arrived, there were pools of blood on the floor toward the bedroom and splattered on the walls.

Rivas is due back in court on Thursday.

Additional reporting by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon