A disturbing video has surfaced showing Jaia Cruz, a 24-year-old transgender woman accused of fatally stabbing postal worker Ray Hodges in a Harlem deli, just days before the incident.
Postal worker fatally stabbed this afternoon in Harlem while on duty. As they mopped the blood-stained floors tonight, deli workers said this was all over who placed their sandwich order first. 2025 off to a violent start in NYC. pic.twitter.com/I17CfJKlGo
— CeFaan Kim (@CeFaanKim) January 3, 2025
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The clip, posted on X (formerly Twitter) by user @ImMeme0, features Cruz rolling his eyes and smiling while a provocative song plays in the background.
UPDATE: Jaia Cruz, initially reported as a “woman,” has been identified as Alvin Cruz, a 24-year-old transgender, accused of fatally stabbing a postal worker in Harlem.
Cruz is charged with first degree murder and has two prior arrests in 2020 for incidents that involved knives. https://t.co/scByrcUpCJ pic.twitter.com/6o3rbI5l1k
— I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) January 4, 2025
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The fatal encounter occurred on Thursday at Joe’s Deli Grocery on 168 Lenox Avenue.
According to witnesses, 36-year-old Hodges, a USPS worker and father of two, was waiting in line to buy lunch when an argument broke out between him and Cruz.
Deli employees reported that the confrontation escalated quickly, with Cruz spitting in Hodges’ face before stabbing him in the stomach.
Hodges was rushed to Harlem Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Hodges’ grieving family declined to comment extensively when approached by reporters on Saturday, stating only that they were “not doing well.”
Cruz, now facing murder charges, has a history of violent behavior, according to law enforcement sources.
Trans person “Jaia” Cruz, previously known as Alvin J. Cruz, has been charged with the second-degree stabbing murder of a USPS postal worker in a Harlem deli. The press has reported that Cruz is a “woman.” pic.twitter.com/wmh7urtBCK
— Andy Ngo 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) January 3, 2025
He had been arrested five times prior to the stabbing.
In July 2020, Cruz was apprehended for threatening a person with an open box cutter in Midtown West, shouting, “I’m going to cut him.”
He resisted police orders to surrender and was subsequently charged with resisting arrest.
Just two weeks later, she was implicated in a robbery at knifepoint alongside an accomplice.
The video posted online has drawn additional scrutiny, with many questioning whether it reflects Cruz’s state of mind leading up to the attack.
The nine-second clip, in which Cruz appears to revel in the moment, adds an unsettling layer to an already tragic story.
As authorities piece together the events surrounding the incident, the community grapples with the loss of a father and public servant.
The motive behind the argument remains unknown, but the violent act has left a lasting impact on Hodges’ family and the Harlem neighborhood where the crime occurred.
Cruz remains in custody as the investigation continues.
Further details about the case are expected to emerge in the coming days.
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Of course, being a man, he had more strength than anyone would think being he looked like a woman. I suppose he will want to be put in a women’s prison now.
But surely it can’t be related to the overdosing of female hormones nor the psychological games some therapists, psychologists, or psychiatrists play with their heads. People that think they can change their gender are just in need of a good dose of reality no matter how much it hurts their feelings. You don’t mess with Mother Nature. When are we going to wake up?
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