The 44-year-old man charged with murdering his girlfriend— stabbing her to death in a secluded area of Pelham Bay Park— drove around aimlessly as she bled to death in his car before eventually bringing her to the hospital and then claiming two Black men killed her in a mugging, prosecutors said.
Suspect Franklin Batallas allegedly stabbed his girlfriend of six years, 30-year-old Anthonella Contreras Linarez repeatedly in the face and neck after pulling her car over in the Bronx park at around 8:10 p.m. on Wednesday, Assistant District Attorney Che Van-Eer said at his arraignment early Saturday.
“The defendant did not call 911, but rather he drove around making multiple U-turns erratically before finally driving to Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital where the victim was pronounced deceased,” said Van-Eer.
Linarez bled out while Batallas drove around, leaving the interior of the car and his clothes soaked in blood, according to Van-Eer.
Linarez, a registered nurse at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, was in the process of breaking up with the suspect, who was described as having a jealous streak, according to a police source.
Batallas initially tried selling investigators a bogus story, claiming he and the victim were headed to City Island to meet a friend for dinner when he pulled her car over inside Pelham Bay Park — at City Island Road and Park Drive — to urinate, at which point two Black men on a moped, dressed in all black with hoodies, pulled up to the car and demanded money from Linarez.
Batallas claimed that when she refused, they repeatedly stabbed her in the face, neck and body — and slashed him in the left arm after he ran from the bushes in a vain attempt to save her.
He said the attackers then drove off.
His tall tale was ultimately unraveled by investigators, and Batallas was arrested and charged with murder, assault and weapons possession.
“Since the inception of this case, the defendant’s entire account of the events are uncorroborated and contradicted by video and physical evidence that the people are in possession of at this time,” Van-Eer said.
Police also found Batallas’ hair on Linarez’s hands, which indicated a fierce struggle, cop sources said.
Batallas was also said to have wounds, and police were trying to determine if he slashed himself on purpose, or by accident as he was attacking her, sources said.
A Bronx criminal court judge ordered Batallas held without bail at his arraignment just after midnight on Saturday. He faces 25 years to life if convicted on the top charge of murder, prosecutors said.
The judge also granted defense attorney, Carolina Garcia’s request that Batallas be placed on suicide watch while in custody, and that he receives mental health observation and medical attention.
Batallas’ grown son who watched the hearing from the gallery stood up and told the suspect, “Be strong. We love you,” in Spanish before collapsing into tears.
He was comforted by his wife before they were escorted out of the courtroom by a court officer.
“He’s a father, grandfather, and somebody’s son,“ said the suspect’s daughter-in-law. “He’s grieving a loss, and the world is against him.“
“He was always in love with her,“ she said. “He would never do this. He’s a good man. He’s innocent.”
Meanwhile, the victim’s devastated family described Batallas as having an “evil heart.”
“He took her from me — her brightness, her hope,” her mother, Paula Linarez, 51 previously told the News. “He was always bad. He had an evil heart. … She was a nurse, she saved lives. … He shut off my shining star.”
Linarez had just graduated from nursing school a year and a half ago and had dreams of becoming an anesthesiologist.
Her sister, Malenas Contreras, said Anthonella and Batallas — who the family said owned or managed an optical store — met in a restaurant and had been together six years.
“It’s very hard,” Contreras, 31, said. “We never expected this. We knew he was aggressive, but we never thought it would come to this. My sister was everything to our family.”