William Rivas is behind bars for murdering his estranged wife, Carmen Iris Santiago, also known as Iris Rodriguez, in Queens, New York.
Santiago was a 35-year-old makeup artist and hair stylist who worked at the Tu S’tilo Salon and Spa on 37th Avenue near 93rd Street in the Jackson Heights neighborhood.
On the evening of Aug. 7, 2019, Rivas, who was 39 years old at the time, entered the salon and started arguing with her. That’s when the owner told him to leave.
Rivas left the salon but remained outside pacing back and forth on a sidewalk.
He returned to the salon and pulled out a large knife. Rivas then plunged it into Santiago’s chest nine times while she was sitting in a chair, according to NBC New York.
Surveillance footage from the salon showed Santiago’s co-workers attempting to stop the attack, but they were unsuccessful.
Rivas sustained cuts to his arm during the attack.
Afterward, he dropped the knife. He then laid on top of Santiago’s motionless body and wept while simultaneously talking to her.
When officers arrived on the scene, they took Rivas into custody without incident.
Meanwhile, paramedics transported Santiago to Elmhurst Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
A police investigation revealed that Santiago and Rivas had two children together. They got married in the Dominican Republic, where they are originally from, nearly 20 years prior to the murder.
After four years of marriage, they separated because Rivas was allegedly abusive. He later moved to the United States, where he met another woman and had a child.
Apparently, that relationship didn’t end well, as he was sent to a Pennsylvania prison for several years for harassing her, according to PIX 11.
He was released in May 2019, and at that time, Santiago had been living in the United States. The police said that’s when the abuse and harassment toward his estranged wife continued.
Two weeks before Santiago was murdered, she went to work with what appeared to be injuries from an attack.
Her employer feared for her safety and advised her to file a restraining order against Rivas, the NY Daily News reported.
“My mom was trying to get her to go to the precinct to get an order of protection against him because two weeks ago he tried to strangle her,” said a woman whose mother owns the salon.
“Yesterday morning he went looking for her. He tried to break into her apartment. She was able to leave, and she came here to be safe. She thought she’d be safe here.”
In December 2019, Rivas pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter at a Queens Criminal Court, where his former sister-in-law spoke.
She said his two teenage sons were requesting to have their last names changed.
“They don’t even want your last name because they’re ashamed of you,” she said in court. “They’re ashamed of the trash that you are.”
“I will leave it in God’s hands, and I hope that God will give you what you deserve and that you never, never have peace in your life again. I want to see you destroyed.”
In February 2020, Rivas was sentenced to 25 years in prison.