QUEENS, NY — A Queens couple has pleaded guilty to attempted murder after violently attacking their neighbor during a dispute over a parking space in Sunnyside, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced.
Arturo Cuevas, 32, and Daisy Barrera, 28, admitted to second-degree attempted murder for the March 2023 assault on 28-year-old Wilson Chabla Lliguicota. The couple faces 14 years in prison following their guilty pleas before Supreme Court Justice Mary L. Bejarano. Sentencing is scheduled for January 22.
“This was a brutal and senseless attack over a parking space,” said District Attorney Katz. “The victim was stabbed and beaten in an assault that shocked the community. Our thoughts remain with Mr. Lliguicota and his family as he continues to recover.”
According to the investigation, on March 17, 2023, around 3:40 p.m., Cuevas and Barrera confronted Lliguicota as he parked near his home. The couple, who lived nearby, had previously argued with the victim over parking 11 months earlier.
During the assault, Cuevas repeatedly stabbed Lliguicota with a folding knife while Barrera struck him in the head with a metal baseball bat. Even after knocking him to the ground, the couple continued the attack—Cuevas stomping on the victim and Barrera delivering further blows to his head.
Lliguicota’s girlfriend, 22-year-old Delia Chimbay, witnessed the attack from their apartment and attempted to intervene but was struck in the arm by Barrera.
Police arrived as the attack continued, prompting Cuevas and Barrera to retreat into their apartment. They were arrested after a 20-minute standoff.
Lliguicota suffered severe brain trauma, requiring surgery to remove part of his skull and the induction of a medical coma for his recovery.
