Courtesy Antonio GarciaJairo Pastoressa was deemed “mentally unfit” to stand trial in the Oct. 25 murder of Christopher Jusko.In the days since Christopher Jusko was killed, his step-sister, Christina Rumpf, has ridden a range of emotions, heightened since Wednesday when she learned that the man who the authorities said fatally stabbed Mr. Jusko has been deemed “mentally unfit” to stand trial.
Now, Ms. Rumpf feels sadness for what she says is essentially the loss of two young lives.
“I’ve always felt that living the rest of your life with the guilt of knowing you killed an innocent person is a certain kind of punishment, one that no court verdict will ever alter,” Ms. Rumpf told The Local. “One man made one quick decision and took two lives: my brother’s and his own. There really is no justice in a situation like this, only sad stories.”
On Wednesday, Jairo Pastoressa, 25 – who the authorities said killed Mr. Jusko Oct. 25 after a dispute over a woman in whom both had a romantic interest – was ordered to undergo treatment at the Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center on Ward’s Island.
Ms. Rumpf learned of the development from The Local and said that her family continues to cope with the loss of Mr. Jusko, who was 21.
“This has been an extremely hard time for my family,” Ms. Rumpf wrote in an e-mail message. “But we’re all doing our best to deal with the shock of losing someone so young in such an unexpected way.”
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Meredith Hoffman A memorial to Christopher Jusko began to develop on East Seventh Street this week not far from the spot where his body was found Monday morning. Jairo Pastoressa has been charged with Mr. Jusko’s murder.This article was reported by Claire Glass, Meredith Hoffman, Clint Rainey, Timothy J. Stenovec and Katie Wang. It was written by Ms. Wang.
The plan was to meet Monday afternoon at their favorite spot in the city near East 14th Street and East River Drive in front of the Con Edison plant.
There, Christopher Jusko, 21, a graffiti artist who used the city as his canvas, was planning to meet his friend Robert Traverzo, 19, and embark on yet another adventure together. Their meeting never took place. Hours before their appointment, Mr. Jusko was stabbed and killed in the East Village in a dispute over a woman, police said.
“I’ve called his phone everyday and left him a different voice mail every day to ask him to look over me,” said Mr. Traverzo, who considered Mr. Jusko his best friend. “I ask him to guide me in the right direction, to look over me, to make sure my family’s alright.”
The authorities have charged Jairo Pastoressa, 25, with the slaying. Mr. Patoressa surrendered to police and was arraigned on murder charges Tuesday. According to the prosecutor’s office, the dispute started when Mr. Jusko called Mr. Pastoressa after discovering his ex-girlfriend was dating Mr. Pastoressa.
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Timothy J. Stenovec Detectives at the scene of the stabbing Monday morning. Jairo Pastoressa, 25, a resident of the East Seventh Street tenement where the stabbing occurred, faces murder charges.A 25-year-old East Village man was charged with murder last night in the fatal stabbing of another man early yesterday morning, the authorities said.
The suspect, Jairo Pastoressa, lived in a tenement at 272 East Seventh Street where the police said that Christopher Jusko, 21, was stabbed around 5:30 a.m. Monday. The authorities said that Mr. Pastoressa surrendered to the police shortly after the attack.
While detectives did not immediately provide details about a possible motive, Mr. Pastoressa’s neighbors said that the killing occurred after a dispute over a woman in whom both had a romantic interest.
The arrest of Mr. Pastroressa was confirmed by The Local this morning. It has also been reported by other news organizations.
One of Mr. Pastoressa’s neighbors, John Bonilla, said that a friend of Mr. Pastoressa’s family indicated that Mr. Pastoressa told investigators that he was acting in self-defense.
Mr. Bonilla described Mr. Pastoressa, his neighbor of about four years, as a “personable young man” and said that he “generally kept to himself.”
“We’d exchange hello and goodbye when he’d go out and walk his dog,” said Mr. Bonilla.
Mr. Bonilla said that neighbors along the stretch of East Seventh Street where the stabbing occurred were jolted by the crime.
“It’s very unnerving,” said Mr. Bonilla. “It doesn’t give you a good sense of security, and makes me wonder about staying in New York.”
