Doctor of child stab victim testifies in trial of accused Brooklyn stabber

March 19, 2018 By Paul Frangipane Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Daniel St. Hubert is on trial at Brooklyn Supreme Court for allegedly stabbing two children, leaving one dead. Eagle file photo by Paul Frangipane

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When doctors removed a breathing tube from 7-year-old Mikayla Capers after she was stabbed 16 times in her building’s elevator, the first thing she asked was about her friend P.J. Avitto, 6, who bled to death in the same space.

Capers’ doctor Joshua Cappell testified in Brooklyn Supreme Court on Monday in the trial of Daniel St. Hubert, 30, accused of stabbing the children with a steak knife in the Boulevard Houses on June 1, 2014. Using a diagram, Cappell labeled 16 stab wounds to show jurors Capers’ injuries.

Of the wounds on Capers’ abdomen, chest, neck, legs, arms and buttocks, two near her stomach were the “most worrisome,” the doctor said. If the knife had entered Capers a millimeter in a different direction, Cappell said, the wounds could have been fatal, puncturing her spleen or collapsing a lung.

Defense attorney Howard Greenberg has argued St. Hubert was not the killer and no blood was found on his clothes, despite photos showing a pool of blood on the elevator floor.

Cappell testified that based on Capers’ injuries, it would be possible for the blood to be absorbed into her clothes because no major arteries were hit.

“Anything is possible, isn’t it?” Greenberg responded.

Capers and Avitto entered the elevator at 845 Schenck Ave. in East New York to grab Italian ices from upstairs when St. Hubert allegedly followed them and began stabbing and slashing them a total of 27 times.

St. Hubert was busted for the crime four days later when witnesses at the scene who allegedly saw him running off, identified him in lineups.

After allegedly falling and dropping the bloody knife near the building when fleeing, his DNA was found on the weapon. Greenberg previously pointed out that none of St. Hubert’s fingerprints were found at the scene, despite at least 37 prints being recovered.

Charged with second-degree murder, attempted murder, assault and weapon possession, he faces 50 years to life in prison if convicted.

Capers, who Greenberg has called a “pathological liar,” is expected to testify on Tuesday when the trial continues.