MIAMI — A Miami man stabbed his girlfriend 34 times not long after she told him she wanted to break up with him, according to police, leading to his arrest on an attempted murder charge.
According to the Miami Police Department, the stabbing happened at around 11:50 p.m. on Sunday in the city’s Coral Gate neighborhood. Officers found the suspect, Leisnier Mauri Garcia, on Thursday and took him into custody.
An MPD arrest report states that the victim told investigators that she had been in a “generally good” relationship with Garcia since December, but “there were occasions” in which the 40-year-old “would become aggressive toward her.”
Authorities said while on the way to a restaurant, Garcia noticed that his girlfriend received a text message from the father of her child, sparking an argument which led the victim to tell Garcia that she wanted to break up.
Police said the two had gone to an Airbnb to collect their belongings. According to the report, Garcia said he needed to go back inside the Airbnb to retrieve a forgotten item.
Officers said when he got back in the vehicle, he “insisted on sitting in the rear passenger seat,” which the victim found “unusual,” because he normally sat up front.
According to police, the attack happened in the 3400 block of Southwest 16th Terrace, at the same address listed as Garcia’s home on the arrest report.
“Without warning, (Garcia) produced a knife from the rear seat and began stabbing her multiple times from behind,” the report states. “The victim stated she immediately opened the driver’s side door in an attempt to escape the attack. The victim exited the vehicle while pleading with (Garcia) to stop.”
According to the arrest report, the victim suffered the nearly three dozen stab wounds all over her upper body, including 10 on the neck.
Doctors treated her at Jackson Memorial Hospital, police said.
“The victim stated this was not the first incident of violence during their relationship,” the report states. “(She said) that during a previous breakup, which lasted approximately two months, (Garcia) attempted to assault her.”
Police said they found Garcia just before 2 p.m. on Thursday in the area of Northwest Fourth Terrace and 36th Court in the Little Havana neighborhood.
After being taken to JMH himself for “lacerations to his hands,” police said he declined to speak with investigators.
As of Friday afternoon, Garcia was being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center with a bond listed as “to be set” in Miami-Dade jail records.
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