East Village street vendor stabbed to death protecting wife

EAST VILLAGE, Manhattan (PIX11) --- A street vendor died trying to save his wife during a violent stabbing spree in the East Village on Sunday, authorities said.

Clemson Cockfield, 38, was fatally stabbed in the neck, face, and twice in the chest after pulling the suspect, Alejandro Piedra, off his wife, Jennifer Cockfield, 52, during a vicious brawl near Avenue A and East 14th Street, according to police.

Piedra allegedly attacked the woman after she threw some punches and her shoe at him during the melee, and stabbed her again after her husband intervened.

"Even though Mr. Cockfield is mortally wounded, he still comes to her aid and is trying to save her," NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said at a briefing Tuesday.

The violence erupted after a street vendor, Jonathan Lopez, accused Piedra of stealing from him. The suspect allegedly pulled a knife and stabbed Lopez in the head and chest, Kenny said.

Clemson Cockfield then started swinging at Piedra with a piece from a broken lamp, repeatedly saying, "You stabbed my friend," authorities said. His wife entered the fray and was stabbed after tripping and falling while running away from the suspect, cops said.

"The three people that were stabbed know each other and that Lopez stated that he had seen the perp previously in the area and then he was a drug abuser," Kenny said.

Lopez and the wife survived their injuries and Clemson Cockfield died in the hospital, police said.

Piedra was taken into custody at the scene and later charged with murder and two counts of attempted murder, according to the NYPD. He pleaded not guilty and was held without bail following his arraignment.

"He smiles and laughs all through the arrest, and processing," Kenny said.

The couple is also a street vendor who came to New York City two years ago from South Carolina, where the husband had multiple shoplifting arrests, according to the NYPD.