By Dan Murphy
On October 26, 2021, Luis Ramos was charged with Felony Arson in Wappinger Falls. Eight days later, he stabbed a mother and daughter in their Yonkers home, killing both. He was charged with two counts of murder, and was awaiting trial in the Westchester County jail when he committed suicide on March 17, 2023.
Elected officials in Yonkers, and members of the Yonkers Police Department questioned why Ramos was allowed to walk free after committing felony arson, and blamed it on the bail reforms passed in Albany.
The same debate over bail reform and criminal justice reform continues today.
Read our story below from 2021.
Suspect Luis Ramos Arrested, Released for Arson One Week Prior to Double Homicide
The issue of bail reform in New York State is back in the news and in the public debate after a double murder in Yonkers on Nov. 1. Two women were found dead in the Wakefield Park section of Yonkers, after concerned neighbors called the police.
On Monday, November 1st, 2021, at approximately 4:30 PM, members of the Yonkers Police Department responded to 68 Shipman Avenue to conduct a welfare check of the residents at the request of a concerned third party: a mother and daughter who live at location were not heard from in several days. Responding officers were unable to make contact with anyone inside the home and forced entry. Within the home officers discovered the lifeless bodies of two females, both having died from apparent multiple stab wounds.
Officers cordoned off the scene and initiated a criminal investigation. Detectives from the Major Case Squad and Crime Scene Unit responded to the scene and canvassed for subjects and witnesses, recovered surveillance video, and processed forensic evidence. Within hours Detectives identified a person of interest, and in collaboration with local, state, and Federal authorities, tracked him to the area of the Arizona, Mexico international border. Working together with prosecutors from the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, investigators developed information and probable cause to charge that person of interest with felony crimes.
Murder charges and an arrest warrant were filed against Luis Gabriel RAMOS, a 27-year-old resident of Saw Mill River Road this City. Investigation yielded that RAMOS was known to the victims and allegedly stabbed them to death the weekend prior, sometime between Friday evening and Saturday morning. RAMOS then fled the area to the southwest United States to allegedly escape capture; he was apprehended by the FBI Phoenix Fugitive Task Force in the unincorporated community of Salome, Arizona Tuesday evening without incident.
The victims were a mother and daughter, Isabella Triano, 70, and Trisha Miller, 38, both from Yonkers.
One week prior to allegedly stabbing both victims, on Oct. 26, Ramos was arrested in Wappingers Falls, for Felony Arson. He was released and 8 days later he was arrested by the YPD for murder. “We have made a case about the difficulties of bail reform. The suspect was arrested for a serious charge a C Felony and released, and a week later two women were murdered. We are working with our state legislators to try and make modifications to bail reform,” said Mueller.
Mueller praised the work of the Detectives of the YPD who worked the case, and the cooperation from the Westchester DA’s office, the US Attorney’s office in the SDNY and the FBI. “This is such an amazing job by our Yonkers detectives, and our partners in the DA’s office, the FBI, and the SDNY to all do this and come together in 24 hours.
Ramos’ ex-girlfriend had contacted police the day after Ramos had borrowed a car from a friend and failed to return it. Ramos spoke to the ex-girlfriend and confessed to the murders, explaining that he confronted Tirano and Miller about money they owed him and after, stabbed them both to death.
Why Ramos set fire to a 1999 Toyota Camry on the Taconic State Parkway at 4:10 AM is a mystery. New York State Police responded to a call of a vehicle on fire in a wooded area just off the Taconic in the Town of LaGrange.
Ramos was located a few miles away from the fire and charged with third-degree arson. He was immediately released and was scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 21.
The response to Ramos’ release, and the problems with bail reform, have been loud. “Two people are dead now because of these laws, and they need to be severely, severely changed,” says Keith Olson, president of the Yonkers Police Benevolent Association. “Luis Ramos was arrested for felony Arson less than a week before he allegedly stabbed a mother and her daughter to death in Yonkers. As a result of the new bail reform laws, he was released on his own recognizance when he committed a brutal double homicide. Luis Ramos may have killed these women but bail reform allowed him to do it.”
Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano Tweeted, “No bail for arson – you’ve got to be kidding me! “
One family member of the two dead women posted, “My cousins are both murdered now. Unfortunately, because he was let go for the first crime. There dead now. This law killed my two cousins… Letting him go. To do something worse… So that’s real safe for everyone.. No…”
Triano was also an employee of the Yonkers Public Schools system and worked at Saunders High School.
Mayor Mike Spano stated, “In just over 24 hours, our men and women in the Yonkers Police Department identified and apprehended the individual responsible for committing a heinous act of violence. The swift action taken by the Yonkers Police sends a powerful message that those who seek to commit a crime in our city will be caught and will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. My thoughts continue to be with the family and loved ones of those involved in this isolated incident.”
Commissioner John J. Mueller stated, “Phenomenal work by everyone involved to get Ramos into custody in short order. I want to thank our police officers, detectives, and supervisors; and our law enforcement partners in the Westchester County DA’s Office, FBI Westchester Safe Streets Task Force and Phoenix Fugitive Task Force.”
The funeral for Triano and Miller will be a Flower Funeral Home on November 10.
