A 21-year-old Cornwall-on-Hudson man survived over 20 stab wounds to the head and torso area during an altercation with an acquaintance, Jonathan Rizzo, early Wednesday morning. Rizzo, 21, of Cornwall, turned himself into Town of Cornwall Police and was charged with Assault in the First Degree, a class B Felony.
Rizzo was arraigned before Town of Cornwall Judge Francis Navarra and remanded to the Orange County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail. He was ordered to return to court on April 12 for further proceedings.
The victim, whose name was not released by police, was able to walk, about four blocks, from Idlewild Avenue, where the incident took place, to Paula Court, where he sought assistance from his childhood friend, Robert Bianco.
“The victim showed up at my house asking for help,” said Maria Petrose Bianco, a day after the incident. “I heard the banging on the backdoor. He said ‘ma,’ he calls me ‘ma,’ I need help. He was in the window and I saw him covered in blood. I let him in and called 911.”
Maria doesn’t know what transpired to lead up to the incident. All the victim could say was he was cold.
“I don’t know how he got here,” she said. “He must have been on an adrenaline rush.”
The injured party was transported to St. Luke’s Hospital in Cornwall. Police described the wounds as non-life threatening.
At approximately 2:40 a.m., Cornwall-on-Hudson Police Department responded to the scene of the assault. Chief Steven Dixon contacted New York State Police to aid in the investigation.
During a news conference, held this morning at Troop F headquarters in Middletown, Major Joseph A. Tripodo revealed Rizzo and the victim engaged in a dispute which ultimately led to Rizzo drawing a folding knife and the stabbing of his acquaintance in excess of 20 times. The victim also sustained a fractured hand and skull during the altercation. Why the two men were arguing has not been determined.
Around 5 a.m., Rizzo turned himself in to police and he was subsequently transported to the State Police Department in Montgomery and later arraigned in court. With assistance from local police, state troopers continued their investigation, conducting interviews and searching for the weapon, as well as clothing Rizzo had discarded. The knife was eventually found on Hudson Street, but the exact location was not revealed.
