Man Gets 25 Years After Fatally Stabbing Son-In-Law On Long Island: DA

Crime & Safety

Man Gets 25 Years After Fatally Stabbing Son-In-Law On Long Island: DA "There is absolutely no justification for this defendant's violent actions." — Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney.

ISLIP, NY — An Islip Terrace man was sentenced to 25 years in prison after fatally stabbing his son-in-law in the driveway of their Islip Terrance home, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney announced Thursday.

Eduardo Vega, 58, of Islip Terrace, was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Thursday after pleading guilty in September to first-degree manslaughter after fatally stabbing Roshane McLaren, his 34-year-old son-in-law, in the driveway of their Islip Terrace home in 2022, the DA said.

Vega's wife and co-defendant, Tanya Denis, 48, also of Islip Terrace, pleaded guilty to third-degree hindering prosecution for her role in the commission of the murder, the DA said.

According to the investigation and Vega's plea, on September 27, 2022, Vega and Denis lived with Denis' two daughters, their husbands and children. That morning, Vega and one of Denis' daughter's husbands got in an argument in the backyard. Things escalated when Vega threw a lawn chair and threatened to hit the son-in-law with a baseball bat, the DA said.

When one of Denis's daughters tried to intervene, Vega punched her in the face, the DA said. Vega left the home on foot and while he was out, McLaren learned that Vega had punched his wife, the DA said.

When Vega returned to the home, McLaren confronted Vega for hitting his wife while standing in the driveway, the DA said. Vega then stabbed him in the chest twice, piercing his left lung, heart, diaphragm and stomach, the DA said.

Vega then fled the scene and shortly after, Denis located him, gave him money and drove him to the Brentwood train station where he rode a train to Brooklyn, the DA said.

Meanwhile, McLare was transported to South Shore University Hospital where he was pronounced dead, the DA said.

On Oct. 2, 2022, Vega turned himself in at the Suffolk County Police Department's Third Precinct, the DA said.

"There is absolutely no justification for this defendant's violent actions," Tierney said. "The brutal manner in which he chose to attack and kill Mr. McLaren deserves an equally serious prison sentence."

On Sept. 13, 2024, Vega pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter, a Class B violent felony, before Acting County Court Judge Richard T. Dunne, the DA said.

He is expected to be sentenced to 25 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision, the DA said.

"Mr. Vega was given the opportunity to take responsibility for what he did with the manslaughter plea and he accepted that and acknowledged his wrongdoing," his lawyer, Christopher Gioe, told Patch in September.