Suspect Indicted for Attempted Murder of Museum Worker, Who Remains in a Coma

Diana Agudelo, 44, was riding her bike through Randall’s Island on May 16, taking her trusted, everyday commute home from her job at the Museum of the City of New York. Suddenly and unprovoked, police said she was brutally attacked and left in critical condition along the Harlem riverbank. When first responders arrived early the next morning, she was transferred to Elmhurst Hospital and treated for skull fractures, abrasions and brain hemorrhaging, amongst other serious injuries. The once healthy mother and museum employee is now in a coma, severely cognitively impaired and fighting for her life.

Her daughter, Stephanie Rodas, 21, came face to face with her mother’s attacker at his arraignment.

Miguel Jiraud, 30, was arrested for the attack a week later. According to Daily News, Jiraud is a Randall’s Island shelter resident who had been on parole after a 12-year prison sentence for a rape conviction. After assaulting Agudelo, he fled the scene and called 911 the next morning claiming to have found the victim’s body. Cops said it didn’t take long for his story to unravel, with his ankle monitor ultimately connecting him to the attack.

Jiraud, who also allegedly took the e-bike that Agudelo was riding, was charged with two counts of attempted murder, robbery in the first degree and assault at his arraignment on June 18, according to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Augdelo’s daughter, Stephanie Rodas, 21, came face to face with her mother’s attacker at his arraignment.

Mariecruz Nazario, one of Agudelo’s coworkers at the Museum of the City of New York, started a GoFundMe on behalf of Agudelo and her family to raise money for medical expenses and housing needs and other needs. With a goal of $90k, donations have reached $83,402 as of June 23. Rodas has been posting on the GoFundMe page, providing updates on her mother’s slow recovery.

On May 27, Rodas thanked donors and wrote a personal, detailed summary of the recovery of her mother, who called “my best friend” who had been with her daughter “through every hardship, every heartbreak, and every success. Now, I want to be there for her. She is the kindest, most forgiving person I’ve ever known,” wrote Rodas. “My mom came to this country from Colombia to give us a better life. She has given everything she has to care for us. Now, in this unimaginable moment, we’re doing everything we can to care for her.”

The second update came on June 5, where Rodas explained her mother’s condition. She said that her mother is now able to breathe on her own and that her brain pressure decreases about one percent each day. She also said that her mother opened her eyes for a brief moment, but hasn’t opened them again since.

“People keep telling me to be strong for her, but it’s hard when all I want is just one more hug from my mom,” wrote Rodas. “I miss her deeply.”

Jiraud’s arraignment occurred on Wednesday, June 18 in Manhattan Criminal Court, and it was the first time Rodas and Jiraud came face to face.

“The first thing I thought was he seemed like just a normal person. Like, I would’ve walked past him and I wouldn’t have thought twice. And I wouldn’t even have known,” Rodas told Daily News. “How can someone that I wouldn’t even suspect cause this much harm to my life?”

Jiraud pleaded not guilty to the charges.

In a video posted on Facebook by CBS New York on May 23, Rodas revealed what doctors have told her to expect from her mother’s recovery.

“Best case scenario would be that...she won’t be able to have good function over [the right side of her body]. She will lose memory, she will be more likely to have seizures. She won’t be able to see from the right corner of her eye. They told me that she won’t be able to go back to work and she won’t have a normal life anymore.”

D.A. Bragg assured New Yorkers in a statement that acts of violence like this are “abhorrent” and justice will be served. “I hope she continues to recover from this terrifying assault, and I want to assure New Yorkers that we will ensure accountability for those who commit such acts of violence.”