#Woman stabbed to death in Queens

A woman in her 40s was stabbed to death in Queens on Saturday night in what is the year’s first known homicide in New York City, police said

The unidentified woman was discovered by a pedestrian laying on the sidewalk with multiple stab wounds at 21st Street and Broadway in Astoria around 8:50 p.m., according to the NYPD.

The victim died at Astoria General Hospital and the circumstances around the killing remained “a mystery,” with no witnesses or suspects immediately identified, police said.

The deadly New Year’s Day attack marked the first reported homicide of the young year in the five boroughs, the NYPD said.

In 2021, the city recorded 485 murders, a 4 percent increase from the 468 tallied in 2020, sources said. The NYPD had not yet officially released its year-end crime statistics Saturday.

Despite the slight increase, the murder rate in the city remained much lower than historical highs last year. In 1990, a record high 2,245 murders were recorded.