The youngest son of a salon worker who was brutally stabbed to death by her estranged husband does not know she is dead.
Iris Rodriguez, 35, was killed when William Rivas, 39, stormed into the Queens salon she was working at and stabbed her multiple times in the chest, police say.
Rivas then lay on top of the 35-year-old’s lifeless body while onlookers screamed in the background.
The heartbreaking news is yet to be broken to her youngest son, who is under eight, friends told the NY Daily News, while her eldest, 16, doesn’t know the ‘cruel way it happened’.
Dileyda Hernández, a childhood friend of Rodriguez, told the Daily News that her youngest son ‘still doesn’t know his mom is not going to be with them anymore.’
Her oldest who ‘knows something happened to his mother’ is yet to find out further details.
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Mother-of-two Iris Rodriguez (right) was allegedly killed by her husband William Rivas (center) and one of her children is yet to find out
Tu S’tilo Salon and Spa (above) in Jackson Heights, Queens, where the mother tragically lost her life
William Rivas (left) allegedly flew into the salon in a jealous rage, according to sources at the scene. There it’s claimed that he stabbed Rodriguez (right) multiple times in the chest and then lay over her bloodied body
Rivas was charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon on Friday, and has been held without bail.
The incident happened at around 7pm Wednesday in Tu S’tilo Salon and Spa in Jackson Heights.
After the incident, Rodriguez was taken to Elmhurst General Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Rivas was treated for a cut on his arm after being taken into custody.
He was paroled in May after being convicted of aggravated assault, a spokeswoman for Pennsylvania State Corrections told the Daily News.
One employee of Tu S’tilo, Consuelo Santa, only referred to Rivas as ‘el asesino’ the Spanish word for ‘murderer’ and refused to speak his name on Friday.
Santa told the site: ‘When he got out of jail and came here for the first time, he did not seem like a good person.’
Rodriguez has worked at the salon (above) for five years, she was described as ‘an excellent employee and co-worker, always smiling, charismatic’
Rivas had moved from the Dominican Republic to join Rodriguez several years ago, when the couple lived in Corona.
Records indicate that the couple separated in January after about four years of marriage.
A friend of Rodriguez said Rivas became jealous when he saw his estranged wife talking to other men.
The friend, Rosa, told the Daily News that Rivas had been calling Rodriguez after they split up.
‘She said that he was aggressive, and she was a little scared, but never enough to think this [would happen],’ Rosa said.
‘She said he wanted her to live with him but she said she didn’t want to be with him. She said she didn’t want him to know where she lived.’
One officer outside the salon (above) where Rodriguez died from multiple stab wounds
Rodriguez moved from the Dominican Republic and lived in Corona with her husband for several years before they split up in January
Rodriguez’s colleagues allegedly begged her to get an order of protection, according to the salon owner’s daughter, Mayra Chaez.
She claims that Rivas tried to strangle her two weeks before her death, according to the News.
Rodriguez allegedly refused to call the police because she didn’t want her estranged husband to get arrested.
Just 30 minutes before her death, Rodriguez shared a harrowing quote on Facebook.
Translated from Spanish, the quote reads: ‘Life asked death: Why do people love me, but hate you? Death answered: because you are a beautiful lie, and I am a painful truth.’
Rodriguez’s two children are now living with an aunt in the Bronx, while the family prepares her funeral according to the News.
Her mother has flown in to from the Dominican Republic to help with funeral arrangements.
Ambulance services raced to take Rodriguez to a nearby hospital (above) where she was later pronounced dead
After the incident on Wednesday after 7pm, where a mother-of-two was stabbed to death
Santa said that the community is ‘very strong right now’ and explained that many had arrived to pay their respects and offer donations.
‘She was an excellent daughter, woman, and friend, a calm person,’ Santa added. ‘She did not bother anyone or go looking for problems.’
Santa added that she didn’t ‘talk too much about her personal life’ and said that she was a very calm person,’ according to the News.
‘Such a good person she was,’ Rosa said. ‘A really good mother. She loved her children. She would do everything for them.’
One mourner, Nancy Davila, wrote on social media: ‘It’s not a normal where today I’m my sad where you questions round in my mind how it could happen.
‘My friend is not with us. Iris Rodriguez rip strength for her children and family and friends. Great pain I share today.’
Rodriguez (left) was described as a ‘very calm person.’ Since her death the community have gathered around to support her family
A fundraising page has been set up on gofundme to help the family cover her funeral costs
A fundraising page set-up to help the family to cover the cost of her funeral described her as a single mom who worked ‘day by day to provide for her children.’
The post read: ‘Today they are left helpless with their hearts shattered and have to learn to live without their mother. They need our support.
‘Those who met her personally can say that Iris always helped the person that needed it, an excellent employee and co-worker, always smiling, charismatic attended her clients and joked with her friends all day.’
Rivas is due back in a court on September 20, if found guilty he could face 25 years to life imprisonment.