An 18-year-old high school football player from The Bronx has been arrested and charged with manslaughter after police say he choked his mother's ex-boyfriend to death for physically assaulting her.
Luis Moux was arrested on Monday in the University Heights section of The Bronx for the killing of 43-year-old Stanley Washington.
According to the NYPD, the deadly domestic dispute began unfolding at around 4.30am when Washington arrived at Lorena Sesma's apartment on University Avenue, ostensibly to talk to her.
Sesma and Washington soon began arguing in the hallway and the 37-year-old woman tried to retreat inside her unit, but police say Washington followed her and allegedly began beating her.
Sesma's son, Moux, heard the commotion, emerged from his room in the rear of the apartment and rushed to his mother's aid, reported PIX11.
According to detectives, the 5-foot-8, 220-pound offensive lineman pulled Washington off of his mother and put him in chokehold, which caused the man to pass out, reported CBS New York.
Moux's mother also briefly lost consciousness during the struggle, but she eventually came to and called 911.
Washington was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Sesma suffered minor injuries during the altercation with her former boyfriend but refused medical attention.
According to the New York Daily News, Washington's criminal record included 26 arrests, two of them on domestic violence charges stemming from incidents that occurred in 2014 and 2016, and which involved Lorena Sesma.
Friends and neighbors of the family described Moux as a "good kid" who attended school and was not involved in any criminal activities.
Moux has been enrolled as a junior at Grand Street Campus High School, a charter school in Brooklyn, where he played on the varsity football team.
Speaking to NY1, a friend of Moux's from The Bronx speculated that the boy had not set out to kill Washington but was merely trying to protect his mother.
The Daily News reported, citing a police source, that investigators are still trying to determine whether Moux's actions constituted self-defense.