They heard her screaming and pleading for her life, but neighbors were ultimately unable to save a 23-year-old woman who was killed in the early morning hours yesterday on the Lower East Side.
According to neighbors, Sarah Coit, 23, had been arguing with boyfriend Raul Barrera, 33, at around 2 a.m. in their Clinton Street apartment, where Coit was reportedly trying to break up with him.
Barrera turned himself in to the 9th precinct at 2:30 a.m., where he told police he had assaulted a woman, officers report. When they went to the address he gave, police found Coit dead in the living room with multiple stab wounds.
She also had a gash in her neck that was so severe she was nearly decapitated, according to reports.
“There was a lot of noise,” said neighbor Josephina Alvarez, who lives across the hall at 63 Clinton St. “Then the police came in and went through our apartment to get to theirs.”
Coit was rushed to Beth Israel Hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival.
“As a young woman, it’s frightening,” said Taylor Mason, 24, who lives on the first floor of the building.
Barrera has been charged with second-degree murder.
“It’s horribly disturbing,” said neighbor Sherif, who declined to give his last name, “It’s not a good day on Clinton Street.”
Follow Emily Anne Epstein on Twitter at @EmilyatMetro.
