A jealous ex-boyfriend who “stole” a vibrant young woman from a loving Queens family was sentenced today to 24 years in prison for the horrendous murder.
Segundo Penafiel, 28, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter earlier this month, was sentenced to 24 years in prison by Queens Supreme Court Justice Richard Buchter for repeatedly stabbing his ex-girlfriend, Ebony Garcia, as her 3-year-old daughter, Chloe, stood nearby.
“You stole Ebony from us! You should rot in hell you bastard!” Garcia’s heartbroken mother, Julie Perez, shouted at the killer as tears flowed down her face.
Garcia, 21, ran into Penafiel, then 25, at a bar on Aug. 23, 2008 and followed her to her cousin’s home where he attacked her in a jealous rage. Garcia screamed for more than 30 minutes in the residential building as Penafiel, who faced 25-to-life if convicted at trial, stabbed her head, arms and neck, eventually slashing her jugular.
“You’re a coward, your not a man!” said Perez as she placed her hand on a memorial pin bearing her daughter’s picture.
Penafiel. who has a history of abusing the victim, fled the College Point apartment and was found getting off of a bus in Brownsville, TX where federal agents nabbed him.
“I realize no sentence will ever be good enough and because of this monster, this family has another gaping hole in their heart,” said Perez as she told the judge that she hasn’t seen her granddaughter since Garcia’s gruesome death because she lives in Brazil with her father.
Penafiel faces deportation to Ecuador after his jail term.