Young Mother Of 3 Found At LI Gas Station Was 'Brutally Killed'; Man Stabbed Her In Neck: DA

YAPHANK, NY — A Long Beach man was indicted after fatally stabbing a woman who was found at a Yaphank gas station, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

Michael McHenry, 40, of Long Beach, was indicted on a second-degree murder charge after fatally stabbing Juliann Bachmann, 30, of Bellport, Tierney said.

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According to the investigation, in the early morning hours of May 16, the Bachmann and her friend reportedly drovevher black sedan to Long Beach to pick up McHenry, who had just moved in with the Bachmann and her three children two months prior, the DA said.

Just after 6:30 a.m., Bachmann reportedly dropped her friend off at a motel in Shirley, leaving McHenry as her only passenger, the DA said.

Less than an hour later, at about 7:15 a.m., a witness reported seeing a man, who was sitting in the passenger seat of the black sedan, grab a female in the vehicle by the hair and repeatedly strike her in the face while she screamed that he was going to kill her, Tierney said.

The witness called 911 to report what they had witnessed, the DA said.

A second witness observed the black sedan on Montauk Highway and saw a woman in the driver’s seat screaming for help, the DA said.

The witness then saw the sedan pull into an automotive shop in Shirley, saw a man exit the passenger side of the vehicle, and pull a female out of the driver’s seat as she was clutching the left side of her neck, Tierney said.

The man then sped away in the sedan with the woman still inside, Tierney said.

Video surveillance recovered by law enforcement from the automotive shop depicts the entire encounter, the DA said.

At about 7:20 a.m., an off-duty Suffolk County police captain was driving on Victory Avenue in Yaphank when a black sedan came up behind him and was tailgating him at a high rate of speed before passing his vehicle, the DA said.

When the captain glanced over at the black sedan, he noticed that the headrest was soaked in blood and a person in the rear seat of the vehicle appeared to be in distress, Tierney said.

The captain followed the vehicle into a Speedway Gas Station in Yaphank, where McHenry got out of the driver’s seat and pulled Bachmann, who had a visible neck wound, from the rear passenger seat, Tierney said.

McHenry was arrested at the gas station, the DA said.

Bachmann was rushed to NYU Langone Hospital-Suffolk, where she was pronounced dead, the DA said.

The Suffolk County Medical Examiner conducted an autopsy and ruled the cause of death to be a stab wound to her neck, Tierney said.

Law enforcement executed a search warrant for the black sedan, which was covered in blood stains; during the execution of the search warrant, detectives recovered an open tactical knife from the sedan, Tierney said.

On Wednesday, McHenry was arraigned on the indictment before Supreme Court Justice Steven A. Pilewski for the charge of second-degree murder, a Class A-I felony, Tierney said.

Justice Pilewski ordered McHenry remanded during the pendency of the case; McHenry is due back in court on July 17, and faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted on the top count, Tierney said.

He is being represented by Katherine Fernandez and David Arpino; neither could immediately be reached for comment.

"A young mother of three was brutally killed, allegedly by this defendant," said Tierney. "This office will pursue every avenue available under the law to deliver justice to her, her family, and her three children."