By Tiffany Williams –
NEW YORK CITY — Alejandro Piedra, 31, will spend the rest of his life paying for a brutal, blood-soaked rampage that ended one man’s life and nearly killed two others in the heart of Manhattan’s East Village.
Piedra pleaded guilty in New York State Supreme Court to Murder in the Second Degree, Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, and Assault in the Second Degree for the June 2024 knife attack that killed 38-year-old Clemson Cockfield and left Cockfield’s wife and another man wounded. Under the plea agreement, Piedra is expected to be sentenced on April 20, 2026, to 18 years to life in state prison.
Court records show Piedra knew Cockfield before the violence erupted.
On June 23, 2024, at about 5:38 p.m., what started as a street altercation near East 13th Street and 1st Avenue quickly escalated into chaos. Piedra fought with Cockfield, Cockfield’s 40-year-old wife, and a 31-year-old acquaintance. During that confrontation, Cockfield and the acquaintance approached Piedra holding a piece of wood. Piedra responded by pulling out a knife and stabbing the 31-year-old in the torso and head. The group split up, walking in opposite directions. The wounded man collapsed near East 13th Street and Avenue A and was rushed to the hospital.
But the violence was far from over.
Roughly 12 minutes later, Cockfield and his wife were walking on East 14th Street between 1st Avenue and Avenue A when they saw Piedra coming toward them again. Another fight broke out. During the struggle, another individual struck Piedra in the back of the head with a lamp, shattering it. Piedra chased Cockfield as the fight continued down the street.
Then came the most horrifying moment.
When the men briefly separated, Piedra turned his attention to Cockfield’s wife, who was standing off to the side. He walked up to her and stabbed her repeatedly, slashing her stomach, leg, and neck until she collapsed onto the pavement.
Cockfield rushed back into the fight, striking Piedra with the broken lamp. Piedra answered with deadly force, stabbing Cockfield multiple times in the face and neck. Even then, it didn’t stop. Piedra went back to Cockfield’s wife and stabbed her again and again.
Both victims collapsed on the sidewalk just feet apart.
Cockfield was pronounced dead at the hospital. His wife, critically injured, underwent emergency surgery to save her life.
Police arrested Piedra at the scene and recovered the knife used in the attack.
Alejandro Piedra, of Brooklyn, New York, now stands convicted of one count of Murder in the Second Degree, one count of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, and one count of Assault in the Second Degree — a violent spree that turned a busy New York City street into a crime scene and left a family shattered forever.