Fatal Stabbing Puts Man Face-Down On Ground In Passaic Co. Backyard: Prosecutor

PASSAIC, NJ — Police found the victim of a fatal stabbing face-down on the ground Sunday morning in a Passaic backyard, according to the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office. Law enforcement opened a homicide investigation into the death of Richard Batista.

Passaic police responded just after 7 a.m. Sunday for a report of a stabbing around Passaic and Third Streets. Authorities looked through the area and found Batista face-down in the backyard of 141 Passaic Street, the prosecutor's office said.

Emergency medical personnel arrived, and officials took the 25-year-old Passaic man to Saint Joseph's University Medical Center in Paterson, authorities said. He was pronounced dead shortly after, according to the prosecutor's office.

The investigation remains ongoing. The prosecutor's office promised to release more information once it becomes available.

Anyone with additional information about the incident can contact the prosecutor's office's tips line at 1-877-370-PCPO or tips@passaiccountynj.org, or call Det. Eliezer Reyes at the Passaic Police Detective Bureau at 973-365-3900 or 973-365-3945.

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