A cold-blooded killer was dubbed the “Brooklyn Ripper” for his butchery of two little kids. Nobody in the courtroom, including the judge, had ever seen anyone react like this while being pronounced guilty of killing an innocent young child.
Most people about to learn their fate would be on the edge of their seat, but not Daniel St Hubert, who was convicted of stabbing a little boy to death. As Hubert sat in court preparing to learn whether or not he would spend the rest of his life in prison for the unspeakable crime, he did something unbelievable. He fell asleep.
Hubert, who hails from Brooklyn, stabbed 6-year-old Prince Joshua “PJ” Avitto eleven times in an elevator before turning the knife on PJ’s friend Mikayla. He stabbed her sixteen times, but miraculously, she survived. Mikayla spoke at Hubert’s sentencing hearing before he was locked up for 50 years to life. “I try not to remember this bad man and what he did to me and PJ,” she said.
The District Attorney described Hubert’s murder as “unspeakable,” saying, “This defendant committed an unspeakable crime when he attacked two defenseless young children for no reason, killing one and leaving the other seriously injured.” He added, “I know that PJ’s loved ones will never be consoled and that Mikayla, whose courageous testimony helped to obtain this conviction, will forever carry this tragedy with her. But I hope that they will find some solace by knowing that justice was done.”
On the day of the attack, PJ and Mikayla were playing tag in the playground behind their housing development in East New York. When the children asked permission to go up to PJ’s home at around 5:40 pm for some ice cream, their caretaker allowed them to leave by themselves to go get the treat. It was a decision she will regret forever.
As soon as PJ and Mikayla entered the elevator in their building, Hubert snuck into it with them. For no apparent reason, he withdrew a steak knife and began to repeatedly stab and lacerate PJ and Mikayla. Somehow, Mikayla survived sixteen stab wounds and heroically crawled to the building’s entrance to get help.
There was an abundance of evidence linking Hubert to the horrific crime. A witness saw him enter the elevator and leave the building shortly thereafter; two more witnesses saw him fleeing the building and then falling into a grassy area behind it; and, police found the blood-stained steak knife in the grassy area where he fell.
DNA analysis also matched Mikayla and PJ to the blood on the knife. Furthermore, there was DNA on the handle of the weapon, and it matched Hubert’s. The case was open and shut. But still, Hubert tried to maintain his innocence at trial.
When he was arrested, Hubert told the police, “Satan has powers and controls things.” Indeed, there is no shortage of evil in this word. Anyone questioning that fact can simply take a long, hard look at this despicable man, who is the Devil incarnate.
