Gay Bronx Man Stabbed to Death by Neighbor
The suspect in fatal Bronx stabbing allegedly had previously hurled threats and anti-gay slurs at the victim.
Kayjon Yizar, of New York, was arrested last week and charged with second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, and criminal possession of a weapon for allegedly stabbing 36-year-old Arkmayer Davis to death.
Davis, his husband, Daris, and Yizar had all lived in the same building in the Bronx. But a December 2 fire destroyed their apartments, and they were forced to relocate to a homeless shelter in the borough’s Mount Hope neighborhood.
Daris Davis told the New York Daily News that Yizar — who had lived in the apartment above theirs — blamed him personally for the fire, which started inside the couple’s apartment.
“I feel like it’s because of the fire,” he said of Yizar’s motivation for the stabbing. “His intention was not to do that to Arkmeyer, it was to do that me. He kept getting the two [of us] confused.”
Davis added, “He was so miserable. But we had nothing to do with his misery.”
Davis alleges that Yizar had a history of threatening violence and spewing homophobic remarks toward his downstairs neighbors long before the fire. Davis recounted how, during one incident in July, Yizar allegedly began hurling anti-gay slurs at the pair.
“The man came out the window and was like ‘Get the fuck away from my fucking window before I put a .22 slugger in your ass, you fucking fa**ot,'” Davis recalls. “Then he said, ‘I’m tired of y’all fa**ts.'”
Davis said the last time he spoke with his husband was at the Kleen Panda Laundromat, just steps from the shelter. It was there that Arkmayer Davis and Yizar had another confrontation, this time over a cell phone, as reported by The New York Post.
Surveillance footage from the laundromat shows the men arguing, with Yazir yelling at Davis to give him his phone.
Davis then tosses the phone on the table before Yazir picks it up again. Yazir then yells, “Get away from me! Shut the fuck up, bro! I don’t want to be around you no more,” and storms out of the laundromat.
Shortly thereafter, Arkmayer Davis left the laundromat and headed towards the shelter, where surveillance cameras reportedly captured the stabbing on video.
At some point, Arkmayer Davis stumbled into the building and into the room where he and Daris had been staying, which is where Daris later found him, unconscious and bleeding out.
“I came up to him, I shook him,” Daris Davis told the Daily News. “I tried to wake him up and I see that he wasn’t moving. I looked at his stomach. He wasn’t breathing and I could tell you he had no pulse and he was bleeding out.”
Arkmayer Davis had suffered multiple stab wounds to the arms, legs, and torsos, according to police. Emergency medical personnel rushed him to St. Barnabas Hospital but were unable to save him.
Daris Davis told the Daily News that he worked with police to identify Yizar as the assailant from the surveillance video and later testified before a grand jury about the couple’s past run-ins with Yizar.
Davis said he hopes Yizar is ultimately found guilty and faces severe consequences for his actions.
“I feel like he should get the death penalty and, if not, life in prison and without no parole,” Davis told the newspaper. “He should never have a chance to see daylight again. He should not be held or populated with anybody. He should be in a single cell, by himself, isolated from everybody, so he can see how lonely it is and miserable it is to be by yourself.
“I’m glad that he’s gonna get served the justice that he rightfully deserves,” he said. “He took my heart away.”
At this time, prosecutors have not brought any hate crime charges or bias enhancements against Yazir, despite Daris Davis’ testimony about Yazir’s past anti-gay animus. Yazir is next scheduled to appear in court on January 14.
Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.