Sister of man killed in Times Square says she's disgusted by alleged TikTok trend motive

A woman is mourning the loss of her brother after he was stabbed to death in a random attack in Times Square late Monday night.

According to police sources, the teenage suspect claimed the attack was part of an online trend.

Teen stabbed man to death, police say

Police say just before 11:30 p.m. Monday, three people approached Leonidas Baez, 39, on West 43rd Street while he appeared to be sleeping.

Surveillance video reviewed by investigators shows the group waking him up before one of the suspects chased him into an alley and stabbed him to death.

Prosecutors say the group ran off, leaving Baez bleeding on the sidewalk.

Jayden Sanchez, 17, was arrested and charged with murder and other offenses, including robbery and assault.

According to police sources, Sanchez told investigators he and his accomplices chose to attack Baez as part of a TikTok trend targeting unhoused individuals or people addicted to drugs.

Police say they are still working to identify his accomplices.

Investigators say Sanchez is also accused of slashing a man near a Midtown newsstand the night before he attacked Baez.

Sister remembers beloved brother

For sister Catalina Baez, the pain is still hard to process.

"I can't call my brother up. I can't text my brother," she said. "I can't hear my brother's voice again."

She described her brother as a free spirit.

"He wasn't homeless. This is the lifestyle that he wanted to live," Catalina Baez said. "He was a hippie, you know? He lived a Bob Marley life. Just wanted to be free."

She said it's "disgusting" that her brother's death was allegedly part of a social media trend.

This isn't the first case of its kind in New York in recent weeks. In late April in Binghamton, five teenagers were charged after police say they beat a man on the street who later died. Investigators in that case say the attack was tied to a similar social media trend.

Catalina Baez saw Sanchez in court Friday and says she's still trying to understand how someone so young could allegedly do something so violent.

"Obviously, I'm hurt more than anything because why would you take someone who was loved by so many people?" she said.

Catalina Baez said she wants her brother, a father of two, to be remembered for his joy.

"Super happy, really intelligent, loved to study, loved to read," she said.