News / Law
70-year-Old Brooklyn Grandmother Stabbed By Crack Addicted Ex Con Neighbor Over $80 Dispute
Ragland, claims he was in a drug induced haze when he repeatedly stabbed 70-year-old Ethel Klein to death in her 15th floor apartment in in Crotona Park, New York.
"He said that he was high on crack," NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Wednesday. "He made statements that the woman he \[stabbed\] owed him money."
Ragland, who served 15 years in prison for fatally stabbing a man during a 1983 robbery, lived in the same building as Klein and did odd jobs for her.
"Apparently there had been disputes in the past over that work. He alleges that she owed him $80," Kelly said.
Ragland was arrested Tuesday evening and charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon. A woman who came to the door of Ragland's 6th floor apartment declined to comment. Klein, who was originally identified by police as Ethal Parish, was found lying face down in her kitchen on Jan. 5 with several stab wounds to her neck and upper body.
Investigators said there were no signs of forced entry, leading them to believe she knew her killer.
Kelly said police zeroed in on Ragland after hearing from several neighbors that he sometimes did repair work in Klein's apartment as well as hanging shelves and changing light bulbs. Neighbors said Ragland frequently failed to do the work properly, but demanded the money anyway.
"He never finished anything. He just wanted money, not to do any work," said neighbor Barbara Ross. "He's disgusting."
Klein's slaying sent a chill through the neighborhood where she had lived for 40 years and was well-known for her work with a tenant watch program. Her devastated children said they were relieved their mother's killer had been caught.
"Do you have any idea how happy I am that finally, my mother gets to rest in peace?" Klein's daughter Hope said with tears in her eyes. "It was brutal what he did to her, and we knew it was him all along. Nobody had any reason to kill her."
Klein had been married to a postman and raised four kids in the building.
"She was loved by everybody. She never saw color, only the good in people. Only the person for who they were," said 47-year-old daughter, Sonya.
The daughters said Ragland lived with his girlfriend, Ilene Rosa, who grew up in the building. Neighbors said Ragland was prone to erratic behavior, and long suspected he had a drug problem.
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