A man from Venezuela has been charged with attempted murder following a throat slashing incident on Gilgo Beach, which has caused some concerns he may be a copycat of the Gilgo Beach serial killer.
Ruben Guanipa Ramirez has been accused of smothering an unidentified male victim’s mouth with a rag and stabbing him from behind before he attempted to slash his throat.
“This defendant allegedly drove a man that he knew to a remote beach and attacked him from behind with a knife,” Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said of the attack in a statement. “The evidence recovered from his vehicle raises serious questions about what he intended that night.”
Police later searched Ramirez’s car and allegedly discovered several concerning items including multiple knives, rope, duct tape, blankets, plastic drop cloths, gloves and a box cutter.
Ramirez, 26, first entered the United States in 2014 with a non-immigrant visa B2 tourist visa, which allowed him to stay for six months. However, he has remained in the United States ever since his arrival.
Ramirez is currently being held at the Suffolk County Jail in Riverhead, which is the same facility where Gilgo Beach suspect Rex Heuermann is being held.
Ramirez has been accused of driving the victim to pool halls in Nassau County and Jones Beach and another waterfront before the attempted murder.
“During the altercation, the victim sustained defensive wounds to his hands but was able to wrestle the knife away from Ramirez,” Tierney’s office said in the statement.
The victim managed to escape by getting control of Ramirez’s car. He called 911 and drove himself to a friend’s apartment in Queens, where he met with NYPD officers and received medical treatment.
State police set out to find Ramirez, who was eventually located walking along the Long Island Expressway hours later.
Ramirez is currently being held on $200,000 cash bail, $500,000 bond or $2 million partially secured bond. It is not currently clear if he has entered a plea or retained legal counsel following his arrest.
He is scheduled to return to court on April 29. If Ramirez is found guilty, he could face up to 25 years in prison.
The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to Us Weekly’s request for comment regarding the case.
Authorities have not publicly spoken about possible connections between Ramirez’s assault and the Gilgo Beach Murders, though retired NYPD sergeant Joseph Giacalone told Fox News that the crimes had alarming similarities.
“Was this a copycat crime … related to what is happening with Rex Heuermann in the news?” Giacalone, who previously worked as the head of the NYPD’s Bronx Cold Case Unit, said.
Giacalone added that authorities “need to take a long hard look” at Ramirez.
The former cop also said that the items recovered from Ramirez’s car were particularly concerning, and he pointed out that Heuermann’s alleged victims were found bound with duct tape while wrapped in burlap or plastic.
Heuermann was arrested in July 2023 and has been charged with killing seven women in the Long Island area between 1993 and 2010. He initially pleaded not guilty to the crimes, though several reports state that he’s expected to plead guilty during his next court appearance on April 8.
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