The family of Erin Piacenti, a Bank of America executive who was fatally stabbed in a random attack in Times Square, has released a statement expressing their profound grief and devastation.
Piacenti, 32, was killed on Monday, her first day back at work following maternity leave. She was preparing to build a life with her husband, Frank Piacenti, and their 5-month-old daughter, Madison. Relatives described her death as unprovoked and asked for privacy during their time of mourning.
"Becoming a mother was Erin’s lifelong ambition, and Madison gave her the greatest possible joy," the family stated, directing well-wishers to a GoFundMe page established to raise money for their infant daughter’s future. As of Wednesday afternoon, the fundraiser had garnered over $103,000 toward its $250,000 goal.
Piacenti, an alumna of the University of Pennsylvania and Fordham University School of Law, was attacked by Pamela Cisneros, 49, a Queens resident with a history of mental illness. Cisneros also seriously wounded a man from Rhode Island before she was shot and killed by police officers after attempting to charge them with knives in each hand.
Her family noted that Piacenti and her husband, Frank, whom she met at Fordham Law, celebrated their second wedding anniversary this past summer. They had recently returned from a family road trip just before the tragic incident. "That life changed incomprehensibly in an instant," the family's statement read.