A wake is being held today for Guatemalan day laborer Hugo Alfredo Tale-Yax, who was fatally stabbed last week and died on the street, ignored by passersby. Working in America to buy his family a bigger piece of land in their hometown, Tale-Yax apparently tried to stop a man from attacking a woman on the street in Queens. He was stabbed in the altercation, and bled to death over an hour on the street. His brother said, "He was a good person.”
According to the New York Times, Tale-Yax first came to America by walking through Mexico to Texas, but took up drinking after the recession made it hard for him to find work. His brother Ronaldo, who lives in Jersey City, said Hugo didn't want to admit his problems to the family, telling their father over the phone last month "I will get through the difficulties and carry out the plan." He didn't even tell his brother he was homeless. The Guatemalan consulate will pay to repatriate Tale-Yax's body, and he will be buried next to the church where he was baptized.
New information suggests that the woman Tale-Yax attempted to help may have known the attacker, which is why she has yet to come forward in the case. Recently released footage shows the woman walking up the street and laughing with another man and woman, and then walking back down alone and looking over her shoulder. Her attacker is seen following her with Tale-Yax behind him. Police are still looking for the suspect, who appeared to be 5'6" and wearing a green hat.
