When a Manhattan man complained to his upstairs neighbor about a bathroom leak, he never thought the visit would cause a fight, much less his death.
Monte McEvilley, a 55-year-old father of two, was killed by a stab wound to his heart at the Times Square supportive housing site on W. 43rd St. near Eighth Ave about 12:53 a.m. on July 9, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said on Monday.
Kevin Young, 39, who lived in the unit above McEvilley’s, delivered the mortal injury after McEvilley, a partial double amputee, sought to alert him about water leaking through his bathroom ceiling and pushed the door back when Young tried to close it on him, prosecutors allege.
Young was arraigned Monday on one count of first-degree manslaughter, to which he pleaded not guilty.
McEvilley’s wife, who was separated from her husband but remained close to him, said the family was “devastated.”
“We’re still hurting,” said Lorraine McEvilley, 60. “The kids are just devastated.
“He was a wonderful father and despite his disabilities he saw them quite frequently,” she said. “He was always in their life and very involved and very loving and caring.”
She had last spent time with him two days before he was killed.
“We did things as a family, we did things with the kids,” she said. “He came over to be with my daughter, we had a really nice day.”
The site where the two men lived,called Breaking Ground, provides affordable housing and supportive services for low-income and formerly homeless New Yorkers, people living with mental illness, and people with HIV and AIDS.
McEvilley’s brother Thomas, 63, told the Daily News the victim had moved into the building in 2008 after he had lost his right hand and left leg below the knee in a subway accident and had to show he was a working artist to get an apartment in the building.
“He felt very comfortable there and he was too trusting as a person,” said the brother. “He felt like the whole place was his living room.”
“He was a nonviolent, very peaceful person who thought everyone is equal and you use your words to arrive at parity. He thought he could reason with people and he usually could.”
McEvilley was described as a multitalented “renaissance man” by his brother.
“He was truly one of those rare people who was really good at everything they tried, and then he would get bored and move on to something else.”
McEvilley had spent time working in Hollywood as a scenic artist for movies and even acted in a few along the way, including one produced by cult filmmaker Roger Corman — 1993’s “Carnosaur,” according to IMDB.
Thomas McEvilley said his brother had also managed the live feed for artist Mark Kostabi’s studio, Kostabi World, and still continued to paint with his left hand.
When fatherhood came calling, McEvilley gave up his fabrication job to be a stay-at-home father, said Thomas McEvilley.
Young’s attorney, Frank Rothman, said his client didn’t understand what McEvilley was saying when he came up to his apartment and that Young grabbed a knife he kept by his front door for protection in a moment of panic and confusion.
He described his client to The News as law-abiding and said he works as a pizza maker for a Wegmans supermarket.
“He’s asleep at 1 o’clock in the morning, partially nude, there’s a knock on the door,” Rothman said. “The guy keeps pounding on the door. He opens it partially, the guy starts saying something about a leak. … [Young] goes to close the door, that individual starts to push his way in or prevent him from closing the door.”
Rothman said Young took the knife, “pokes” McEvilley, and then the victim fell back, at which point his client ran downstairs to report it to reception and called his mother “inconsolably sobbing.”
“I don’t understand why it was manslaughter, that’s incredible,” said McEvilley’s cousin Penny Gleason. “The guy opened the door with a knife and stabbed him.”
In court docs filed by the prosecution on Monday, detectives quoted Young expressing concern for McEvilley at the scene and telling them where the knife was.
“I’m so sorry. Can you find out how he’s doing? Can I take that phone? The knife is upstairs. I left it somewhere on the counter,” Young said, according to police. “How is he? You don’t want to tell me, right? I don’t want him to die. Don’t worry; I’m not going to lose my mind. I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
Family said McEvilley brother Alex was murdered 15 years ago in Texas, and no one was ever held responsible.
“At least in this case they’re prosecuting,” said Thomas McEvilley.
Young is expected to ask a judge to lower his $200,000 bond when he returns to court Friday with a new attorney.
In a statement, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg noted McEvilley was “completely unarmed” during the brutal stabbing.
“This alleged conduct senselessly took Mr. McEvilley’s life, and my thoughts are with his loved ones as they continue to grieve their loss,” Bragg said.
“We’re all in shock. I still haven’t really accepted he’s not around,” said Thomas McEvilley. “As far as we’re concerned Monte wasn’t supposed to die.”
Originally Published:
