BREAKING: Valley Stream Man Indicted in Fatal Island Park, Valley Stream Stabbings

Nassau prosecutors say Rony Yahir Alvarenga-Rivera was indicted on first- and second-degree murder charges in the fatal Island Park and Valley Stream stabbings.

Updated Jun 3, 2026
LI Long Island Traffic Staff Editorial Team
CRITICAL INCIDENT
Town
Valley Stream
County
nassau County
Reported
Source
Nassauda
BREAKING: Valley Stream Man Indicted in Fatal Island Park, Valley Stream Stabbings

Breaking Update: Indictment Filed

Update, June 3, 2026: Nassau County prosecutors say Rony Yahir Alvarenga-Rivera, 22, has now been indicted in the fatal stabbings that killed two women hours apart in Valley Stream and Island Park. According to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, Alvarenga-Rivera was arraigned on a grand jury indictment charging Murder in the First Degree and two counts of Murder in the Second Degree. He pleaded not guilty, was remanded, and is due back in court on July 8, 2026.

Suspect Identified in Two Nassau County Fatal Stabbings

Nassau County police previously identified Rony Yahir Alvarenga-Rivera, 22, as the suspect accused in two fatal stabbings that happened hours apart in Island Park and Valley Stream, according to News 12 Long Island.

The case has drawn heavy regional attention because police say the two women were killed in separate Nassau County communities within the same overnight period. The first reported scene was a Wendy’s restaurant on Austin Boulevard in Island Park. The second was a residence on Mineola Avenue in Valley Stream.

Police initially said Alvarenga-Rivera was facing multiple murder charges and had pleaded not guilty, News 12 reported. Nassau prosecutors have now confirmed the case has moved to indictment.

Island Park Wendy’s Stabbing

According to News 12, police responded to a Wendy’s restaurant on Austin Boulevard in Island Park shortly after midnight Friday. Investigators said a 42-year-old woman, described as Alvarenga Rivera’s coworker, was stabbed and killed while taking out the garbage behind the restaurant.

News 12 reported that investigators said Alvarenga Rivera later called police and told them he had stabbed someone.

Det. Lt. George Darienzo told News 12 that while police were at the scene, they received information that a person had been stopped at 169 Atlantic Avenue in Lynbrook.

“He asked to see police and when police arrived, he said he killed somebody that night,” Darienzo said, according to News 12.

Alvarenga Rivera was arrested outside a 7-Eleven in Lynbrook, News 12 reported.

Valley Stream Investigation

Police said the second fatal stabbing happened on Mineola Avenue in Valley Stream a few hours later, according to News 12. Investigators said a 32-year-old woman had stab wounds to the neck and torso.

News 12 reported that police said Alvarenga Rivera and the Valley Stream victim lived at the same location. Darienzo described the home as a shared living arrangement where occupants rented bedrooms and used common spaces including a living room, kitchen and bathroom.

“So they cohabitate, acquaintances of one another,” Darienzo told News 12. “I’m not aware of a specific domestic relationship between the two.”

The Nassau County DA later identified the Valley Stream victim as Eddy Raquel Hernandez Castillo, 32, and said she was found near the side entrance of the West Mineola Avenue home with more than 50 stab wounds.

Earlier Reporting Said One Suspect Was in Custody

Patch reported Friday that Nassau County police said one suspect was in custody after incidents in Island Park and Valley Stream, citing the NCPD Homicide Squad. At that point, Patch reported that police had not yet released the suspect’s identity or detailed charges.

News 12 later identified the suspect as Alvarenga Rivera and reported that police connected him to both fatal stabbings.

Why Long Island Traffic Is Covering This Story

Long Island Traffic primarily covers road safety, crashes, transit disruptions and commuter conditions. This case falls into a broader public-safety category because it affected multiple Nassau County communities, involved a major police homicide investigation, and became one of the most-searched Long Island crime stories of the weekend.

The locations are also high-traffic community corridors. Austin Boulevard is a major Island Park route connecting the Long Beach barrier island area with mainland Nassau County. Valley Stream sits at the Nassau-Queens border and is one of the busiest commuter gateways on western Long Island.

Major police incidents in these areas can affect local traffic patterns, business access, public transit decisions and community safety awareness.

Indictment Details

The Nassau County District Attorney’s Office said the indictment alleges that the first attack happened inside the shared Valley Stream home before the Island Park killing. Prosecutors said Alvarenga-Rivera allegedly became angry over the sound of Hernandez Castillo walking upstairs, confronted her, and stabbed her more than 50 times.

According to prosecutors, Alvarenga-Rivera then took a Long Island Rail Road train to the Island Park Wendy’s where he worked with Ana Maria Del Aguila-Cordova, 42. The DA’s Office said he allegedly waited near the dumpsters after finding the restaurant doors locked and attacked Del Aguila-Cordova when she entered the dumpster area behind the restaurant. Prosecutors said Del Aguila-Cordova suffered more than 30 stab wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The DA’s Office said police later found Alvarenga-Rivera at a Lynbrook 7-Eleven with cuts on his hands and blood on his clothing. Police recovered knives allegedly used in the attacks and two cell phones at the Wendy’s, prosecutors said.

If convicted, Alvarenga-Rivera faces up to life in prison without parole, according to the DA’s Office.

Updates

This article is continuously updated as new information emerges from official sources. The most recent update appears first.

Charges filed

Nassau prosecutors announced that Rony Yahir Alvarenga-Rivera was arraigned on a grand jury indictment charging Murder in the First Degree and two counts of Murder in the Second Degree. He pleaded not guilty, was remanded, and is due back in court on July 8, 2026.

Current Status

Alvarenga-Rivera has been indicted on first- and second-degree murder charges. He pleaded not guilty and remains remanded pending his next scheduled court date on July 8, 2026, according to Nassau prosecutors.

All criminal charges are allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

Long Island Traffic will update this report if Nassau County police, prosecutors, or court records release additional public information about the case.

This report is based on public reporting from the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, News 12 Long Island, Patch, and LongIsland.com. For official updates, consult Nassau County Police Department releases, Nassau County District Attorney releases, and court records.

Topics

Rony Yahir Alvarenga-RiveraIsland ParkValley StreamNassau County DAfatal stabbingmurder indictmentbreaking newsRony Yahir Alvarenga-Rivera indictmentIsland Park stabbingValley Stream stabbingNassau County murder indictmentWendy's Island Park stabbing
See this incident on the Long Island Crime Map Browse recent homicide reports and every Nassau & Suffolk blotter incident, mapped and updated every few hours.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I do if I'm in a car accident in Valley Stream?

Call 911 immediately if anyone is injured or if the vehicles can't be moved safely off the roadway. Stay at the scene — leaving the scene of an accident with injuries is a crime under New York Vehicle and Traffic Law §600. Exchange license, registration, and insurance information with every other driver involved. Take photographs of every vehicle, the position of the vehicles before they're moved, all license plates, the road surface, traffic signs, and any visible injuries. Get the names and phone numbers of every witness — police often won't capture bystander witnesses on their own. Seek medical attention within 24 hours even if you feel fine; soft-tissue injuries and concussions can take a day or two to present, and a delayed medical visit weakens an injury claim. NCPD generally responds to accidents on Nassau County roads outside of incorporated villages with their own police forces (e.g., Garden City, Freeport). For state highways (I-495 LIE, Northern State Parkway, Southern State Parkway, Meadowbrook Parkway, Wantagh Parkway), New York State Police Troop L responds.

How long do I have to file a no-fault claim in New York?

Thirty days. New York Insurance Law §5102 requires you to file a Personal Injury Protection (PIP/no-fault) application with the insurer of the vehicle you were in (or, if you were a pedestrian or cyclist, with the insurer of the striking vehicle) within 30 days of the accident. Missing the 30-day deadline can void your no-fault benefits — that's up to $50,000 in medical bills and 80% of lost wages (capped at $2,000/month) per injured person. The form is the NF-2 application; your insurance carrier provides it on request. New York no-fault is a true PIP system: it pays regardless of who caused the crash.

What counts as a "serious injury" under New York law?

Under Insurance Law §5102(d), a "serious injury" is one that meets at least one of these categories: (1) death; (2) dismemberment; (3) significant disfigurement; (4) a fracture; (5) loss of a fetus; (6) permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function, or system; (7) permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member; (8) significant limitation of use of a body function or system; or (9) a medically determined injury that prevents the injured person from performing substantially all daily activities for at least 90 of the first 180 days following the accident. Only injuries that meet one of these nine categories create the right to sue the at-fault driver for pain and suffering damages — short of that threshold, recovery is limited to no-fault PIP benefits. Disputes over whether an injury meets the threshold are the single most-litigated issue in NY motor-vehicle cases.

How long do I have to sue after a Long Island car accident?

Three years from the date of the accident for personal injury claims under CPLR §214(5). Wrongful death claims have a two-year deadline under EPTL §5-4.1. If a government entity is involved (a county vehicle, a road defect on a state highway, a defective traffic signal, a county bus), you must file a Notice of Claim within 90 days under General Municipal Law §50-e — that's a non-negotiable jurisdictional deadline, and missing it usually bars the claim entirely. Property-damage-only claims have the same three-year clock. The clock starts on the day of the accident, not the day you discover the full extent of an injury.

Can I still recover compensation if I was partly at fault?

Yes. New York is a pure comparative negligence state under CPLR §1411. Even if you were 90% at fault, you can still recover 10% of your damages. (A pending 2026 budget proposal would change this to a 51% bar — meaning a plaintiff who is more than 50% at fault would recover nothing — but that hasn't passed.) Insurance carriers routinely try to inflate the injured driver's percentage of fault to reduce payouts. The percentage assignment is decided by the jury at trial (or negotiated during settlement); it isn't fixed by the police accident report and isn't binding even when the report assigns fault. Reporting practice and the actual legal apportionment are separate questions.

Who can file a wrongful death claim in New York?

Under EPTL §5-4.1, only the personal representative (executor or administrator) of the deceased's estate can bring a wrongful death action — not the deceased's family directly. The estate is opened in Surrogate's Court of the county where the deceased lived. Damages flow to the spouse, children, parents, and other distributees defined under EPTL §4-1.1. Recoverable damages include loss of financial support, loss of parental guidance for surviving children, and conscious pre-death pain and suffering (recovered through a separate "survival action" under EPTL §11-3.2). New York is unusual in NOT allowing surviving family members to recover for their own emotional grief — only economic losses to the estate. The wrongful-death two-year statute of limitations is shorter than the three-year personal-injury statute, so the deadline is critical.

How do I get a copy of the police accident report?

If Nassau County Police Department (NCPD) responded to the scene, the report is filed under an MV-104A form. In New York State, you can request a copy through the DMV at https://dmv.ny.gov/vehicle-safety/get-copy-accident-report (roughly $7 online, $10 by mail) once the responding agency has uploaded it to the state system, which usually takes 5-10 business days. NCPD and SCPD also have their own direct-request processes through the precinct that responded. If you weren't injured but the property damage exceeded $1,000, New York VTL §605 requires you (the driver) to file your own MV-104 report with the DMV within 10 days regardless of whether police responded.

How dangerous is This Road near Valley Stream?

Long Island Traffic tracks every reported incident on this road across both counties — see the road profile page for the multi-year accident count, severity distribution, and the specific intersections that show repeated incident clusters. Suffolk and Nassau county roads with chronic problems are reviewed by their respective DOTs on a multi-year cadence; persistent issues are sometimes addressed with new signal phasing, lane-narrowing treatments, or — in extreme cases — a Vision Zero engineering response. Daily incident updates flow into our live-events feed every fifteen minutes.

Questions about a specific incident? See our Know Your Rights guides for in-depth answers, or the contact page to get in touch.

Disclaimer: Incident information on this page is compiled from public sources including police reports, traffic agencies, and news outlets. It is provided for informational purposes only and may not reflect the most current status of this incident. Do not rely on this information for legal, insurance, or emergency decisions. For emergencies, call 911.