Victim had recently become a father.
By Raif Karerat
A cook at a P.F. Chang’s restaurant who was charged with fatally stabbing a co-worker over the weekend thought the other man was talking about him in Spanish, prosecutors said Monday during the suspect’s arraignment, reported New England -based news outlets.
Jaquan Huston, 23, is charged with first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of 38-year-old Elivelton Dias at the Northshore Mall in Peabody, Mass. on Saturday.
The victim, Elivelton Dias, 38, an immigrant from Brazil, where Portuguese is the native language, according to ABC affiliate WCVB. He had just became a father for the first time about two weeks ago, family and co-workers said.
“I did what I had to do,” Huston told police, according to prosecutors.
Police say Huston fled on foot after the stabbing, and was later arrested at his Salem home.
Huston’s mother, Shawn Maron-Huston, said her son told her he had been threatened by Dias and “snapped.” ”That is not him. He’s not a murderer,” she said, according to the Associated Press.
While Huston had just started at the restaurant a few weeks ago, Dias had worked as a cook there for about seven years. Huston is due back in court on Sept. 28.
“Tonight we lost an employee in a tragic incident at our Peabody restaurant. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of our colleague,” P.F. Chang’s said in a statement following the incident. “We will be mobilizing support to provide care to our colleague’s family, as well as our fellow employees, during this difficult time. We are also cooperating with local law enforcement as they conduct their investigation.”