‘Unimaginable Horrors’: Roosevelt Man Sentenced To 20-To-Life After Fatal Stabbing, Prosecutors Say

ROOSEVELT, NY. — A Roosevelt man was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to second degree murder and endangering the welfare of a child on Oct. 29, 2025, prosecutors said.

Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly announced Wednesday that 44-year-old Jose William Funes-Zabala had been sentenced to 20-to-life in connection with the fatal 2024 stabbing of his then-29-year-old ex-girlfriend, Brenda Guadoloupe Alfaro Alcantara.

Prosecutors said Alfaro-Alcantara had previously had an order of protection against Funes-Zabala, which expired Oct. 4, 2024. The next day, Oct. 5, 2024, prosecutors said Funes-Zabala went to Alfaro-Alcantara’s basement in Hempstead to visit their two-year-old son when an argument began between the boy’s mother and father. Prosecutors said the argument began when Funes-Zabala learned that Alfaro-Alcantara had started dating, and ended with Funes-Zabala stabbing Alfaro-Alcantara about 35 times in her bedroom with the boy present.

“This monster slaughtered the mother of his child as his toddler son watched. A little boy whose final moments with his mother were filled with terror, anguish, and blood. Unimaginable horrors that this defendant forced upon his own son,” Donnelly said. “Brenda was a kind and loving mother who dedicated herself to her family, working extra shifts to make sure they had everything they needed. That is how she will be remembered by the people who loved her, while the vicious and jealous man who stole her from them spends his life in prison.”

Prosecutors said Funes-Zabala walked out of the basement apartment with blood on his face at 6:58 p.m. that night, an hour after he had arrived, fled the residence and left the boy behind unharmed.

When reached for comment, Funes-Zabala’s attorney, Brian Carmody, said Funes-Zabala had attempted to commit suicide after the incident, and made a full confession at the hospital.

Prosecutors said Alfaro-Alcantara and her son were later found in the apartment by relatives, and that Funes-Zabala was arrested Oct. 6, 2024 at Nassau University Medical Center.

During his trial, prosecutors said the DA's office had recommended a sentence of 25 years to life.