A Brooklyn father of four was visiting the NYCHA complex he grew up in when he was stabbed to death last week, his heartbroken ex-girlfriend says.
Kevin Coleman, 48 was back at the Langston Hughes Houses near Sutter and Thatford Aves. in Brownsville to hang out with friends when he was stabbed multiple times at about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. No arrests have been made.
“No matter what, Kevin loved me and my kids unconditionally,” said the victim’s ex Saywon Ware, 44, who is the mother of his three younger children. “He would do anything for his family and kids.”
Cops responding to a 911 call found Coleman faceup in a pool of blood with a knife next to him under scaffolding outside a main entrance to one of the Hughes Houses buildings.
He was conscious and talking but refused to cooperate with police and tell them who stabbed him, police sources said.
“He never gonna name anybody that did anything to him,” his ex said, describing that as part of his “jail mentality.”
Coleman, who went by the nickname “Five,” was sentenced to up to 6½ years in prison for a Brooklyn assault conviction and was released on parole in March 2024, records show.
Medics rushed him to Brookdale University Hospital, where he later died.
Ware rushed to the hospital, where she heard Coleman alert and speaking to doctors but wasn’t allowed to see him, she says.
“I asked him, ‘Can y’all just let him know I’m here? Just let him know he’s not by his self. He so used to being by himself, just tell him he’s not by himself.’ They wouldn’t even tell him,” Ware said.
Coleman and Ware broke up about a month ago, leading Coleman to move out of her East New York home, Ware said. He was staying with cousins in Far Rockaway, Queens, when he was killed
Visiting the Hughes Houses where he grew up was part of Coleman’s usual routine. “He always go back there,” Ware said.
Coleman leaves behind a 20-year-old daughter, 17-year-old son, 15-year-old daughter and an 8-year-old daughter.
“He was a very good father,” Coleman’s 15-year-old daughter said. “He made sure his kids was OK. Even if he wasn’t, he made sure we was OK.”
“He was caring. He was overprotective,” Coleman’s 17-year-old son said. “He ain’t have a lot of money, but the money he would make he would instantly give it to us.”
The 73rd Precinct that includes the Hughes Houses has seen a sharp decrease in homicides this year, with four slayings through Nov. 16 compared with 19 during the same timeframe last year, a 79% drop. Citywide, homicides are down to historic lows, with 275 murders so far this year, compared with 346 by this point last year, a 21% drop.
