Nassau Police Identify Victim In Belmont Park Murder

UPDATE, 12:45 p.m. Monday: Nassau police have identified the victim as Maria Larin, 51, of Elmont. Police say that Franco-Martinez will be arraigned on his charges when medically practical.

UPDATE 6:50 p.m.: Police have identified the man arrested as 53-year-old Jose Franco-Martinez. He has no known address. He has been charged with second degree murder and will be arraigned on Monday at First District Court in Hempstead.

ELMONT, NY – A woman was stabbed to death at Belmont Park racetrack Sunday morning while she was working with a horse and her ex-boyfriend is in custody, authorities said.

According to Nassau County Police, New York Racing Association (NYRA) security guards at Belmont became concerned when they saw a loose horse wandering around at 6:30 a.m. The security guards investigated the rear barn area and found a 51-year-old woman with multiple stab wounds.

The woman was taken by NYRA ambulance to a nearby hospital where she died of her injuries, police said.

Police have not released the name of the woman, but the New York Post, citing police sources, identified her as Maria Larin.

She was apparently stabbed while she was walking a horse.

"Security became alarmed by this because the horse became free," Nassau County Police Det. Steven Fitzpatrick, according to a News 12 report. "So when they responded to see what happened to the horse, they discovered her with these multiple stab wounds."

The woman's ex-boyfriend is in custody, but police have not identified him.

The murder comes just a week after the eyes of the country were on Belmont when Justify won the historic Triple Crown during the Belmont Stakes.

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