Man kills mother of his newborn son

Natti Nisan 01, 2021

A quick-tempered Queens man shot and killed the 34-year-old mother of his newborn son after the couple had a fight early Sunday, cops said.

The boyfriend, 31, blasted Luz Cuza in the head outside her home on 147th St. near 133rd Ave. in Jamaica at about 2 a.m., according to police. She was taken to Jamaica Hospital, where doctors tried in vain to save her.

Cops picked up the boyfriend, identified by sources as Robert Rodriguez, a short time later at 115th Ave. and 225th St. in Cambria Heights. They recovered a .40-caliber firearm, authorities said.

Cuza's brother, Ray Garcia, was at home with his sister when the crazed boyfriend pulled the trigger. He said the couple had been arguing that night.

"I didn't think he was going to hurt her because she just gave birth to his son, like, two months ago," he said.

Garcia was in a separate room when he heard a shot ring out.

"When I go to the front, my sister is laying on the ground with her eye almost popped out," he said. "She was gasping for air."
"When I saw that, I knew how much I loved my sister, because I started crying," Garcia recalled, devastated.
"I said, 'Don't worry, I'm gonna save you.' And I knocked on every neighbor's house, because I didn't have my phone with me."One of the neighbors had already called 911, but the boyfriend had fled.
"He was walking away," Garcia said. "And he disappeared by the time the cops came."

Police caught up with Rodriguez, who works as a parking attendant in Manhattan, soon after.