A career criminal accused of fatally stabbing his girlfriend’s nephew in the East Village last month pleaded not guilty to murder today and is claiming he himself was the victim of a gang assault.
Carl Knox, 47, allegedly stabbed Corey Capers, 31, in the chest on East Fifth Street, near Avenue D, as the younger man was trying to stop a fight between Knox and his aunt. In arrest statements released today, Knox told cops he had a knife in his hand because he’d wrested it away from his girlfriend, and only stabbed Capers to protect his own life.
“It’s a self-defense defense,” his lawyer, Seema Iyer, told reporters. Knox, who also uses the name Abdul Hakim, has served three separate prison stints for attempted assault, weapons possession and attempted rape. He is being held without bail and is due back in court Aug. 30.