Richard Washington died Friday of an infection related to stab wounds he suffered more than a year ago on the New York subway, according to his family.
Washington, a 36-year-old father, had been paralyzed after a stranger stabbed him in the neck during an unprovoked attack at a Queens subway station on January 2, 2022, his mother told Daily News.
His last days were painful and horrible.”
Barbara Washington, mother of the victim
“Her last days were painful and horrible,” said her mother, Barbara Washington, 51. She “she went to the hospital on Friday and her brain was already damaged from the stabbing. He passed away while sitting next to me.”
Washington was on his way to see his family when Brian Moolenaar allegedly pounced on him and stabbed him in the neck at the Rockaway Blvd, Ozone Park Metro station.
Moolenaar, 64, didn’t say a word as he slipped up behind Washington, plunged the knife into the right side of his neck and ran, according to police.
Paramedics took the young father to Jamaica Hospital, where doctors told relatives that his temporary paralysis could be permanent. He never fully recovered, his mother claimed.
“Richard would come home from the hospital and six weeks later something else would go wrong,” the lady said. “The day he was stabbed he couldn’t lie on his right side because one of his lungs was collapsed. He also lost oxygen to his brain, which caused some damage.”
He was a healthy young man before the attack, his family said. Subsequently, a deep depression set in when he realized that he would never walk again.
“[Moolenaar] He not only ruined my son, he ruined my whole family,” the mother said, adding that neither the city nor the state offered Richard financial assistance or medical or rehabilitative services.
“The medical costs were incredible. We were never able to get to see the right doctor. He was in pain until the day he died (…) This mayor did nothing to help my son, ”he added. “The immigrants who came to this city received more help than my family, and we were born and raised here.”
The victim left behind a 14-year-old son. “He’s taking it pretty hard,” Barbara said. “He may need to get counseling.”
Moolenaar, who is believed to be mentally ill, was arrested 18 days after the stabbing, after police released surveillance footage of the suspect and asked for the public’s help in identifying him. He was charged with attempted murder, assault and possession of weapons.
A Queens Criminal Court judge ordered him held without bail. Moolenaar has been confined on Rikers Island, in the jail infirmary, since his arrest. He could face enhanced charges now that Washington is dead.
A spokesman for the Queens district attorney’s office said the case against Moolenaar was pending. He is expected to return to court on June 14.
All charges are mere accusations and those charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
Since taking office in January 2022, former NYPD Mayor Eric Adams has announced multiple times that he would double the number of NYPD officers in the subway system in a beefed-up security plan to address violence in the chaotic NYC Subway. But so far crime and chaos have continued.
Earlier this month Jordan Neely (30), a man with a police record and mental illness, strangled to death in the middle of a confusing incident inside a subway car. Marine Daniel Penny (24), whom some have called a “hero,” was arrested for the controversial case and for second-degree manslaughter.
At the same time, MTA faces million-dollar losses due to the increasing number of users who access the Metro and buses without paying. In January, an estimated 3,400 homeless people were living in subway cars and stations.
In addition, train collisions with people on platforms and rails have experienced an alarming increase of 25% in the last four years (2018 to 2022).