Anthony Hobson, 51, was convicted last week after a jury trial of murder and other crimes in the February 2019 knife attack on his girlfriend, Jennifer Irigoyen, in Ridgewood Queens.
A jury found Hobson, of 64th Avenue in Rego Park, Queens, guilty of murder, tampering with evidence and criminal possession of a weapon following a two-week-long trial. Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael B. Aloise, who presided at trial, set sentencing for February 17, 2022. At that time, Hobson faces up to 25 years-to-life in prison, with additional possible time for the tampering with evidence conviction.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said, “The defendant has been convicted and held responsible for taking the life of a woman, who was the mother of a young son and was also approximately 12 weeks pregnant. This was a horrific crime – the victim was stabbed repeatedly inside the stairway of her apartment building. The defendant now faces a lengthy prison sentence from the Court.”
District Attorney Katz said, according to trial testimony, on February 3, 2019, at approximately 1 a.m., on the third floor of a residential building on Myrtle Avenue, a neighbor heard the victim screaming “Help! Help! He’s trying to kill the baby!” The neighbor ran into the hallway and saw the defendant dragging Ms. Irigoyen, a 35-year-old real estate agent, into the stairwell. The witness saw Hobson – using what appeared to be a kitchen steak knife – repeatedly stab the victim.
The DA said Ms. Irigoyen suffered puncture wounds to her neck, chest and abdomen, along with numerous other injuries. She was transported to an area hospital where she was pronounced dead. The unborn child also could not be saved.
Hobson left the scene with the murder weapon, which was never recovered. The defendant fled to Pennsylvania but turned himself in to law enforcement five days after the murder.
