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NEWSDAY NYC and PHILADELPHIA The search for an Army reservist who police say stabbed and killed another man during a heated altercation outside Manhattan's main post office ended when the suspect apparently committed suicide in the apartment of his ex-girlfriend in Philadelphia. He left behind a note online saying he was provoked and was only trying to protect himself. Sir'mone McCaulla, 28, was found in the bathroom of a Southwest Philadelphia apartment Tuesday evening, about 40 minutes after he posted a suicide note on the Internet blaming Christopher Gutierrez, 20, of the East Village for initiating the disagreement that led to Guttierrez being stabbed to death Sunday evening, authorities said. In a message titled "my statement b4 goodbye" on his MySpace page, McCaulla wrote that after the two bumped on a Manhattan street Gutierrez "started to get defensive." "I told the man, 'keep it moving, no problems but if u leap I'm gonna -- you up," McCaulla wrote. "Not gonna lie, didn't mean to kill him. Just wanted to stop the threat." The stabbing, captured on surveillance cameras posted in the area, took place in a busy section of the city, directly across the street from Penn Station and Madison Square Garden. Police were able to identify McCaulla from a photo taken by a tourist, three calls to a police tips line and a police officer who had "previous contact with him," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said during a news conference Tuesday. The footage shows McCaulla and Gutierrez bumping shoulders as they walked past each other, Kelly said. The two walked about 10-12 feet past each other, exchanged words and then prepared to fight, Kelly said. The footage shows that Gutierrez "assumed a stance like a fighter," and McCaulla did the same, but "has something by his side that turns out to be a knife," Kelly said. McCaulla can then be seen lunging at Gutierrez with "four quick strokes or jabs" landing twice before leaving him mortally wounded on the steps of James A. Farley Post Office, he said.Kelly said McCaulla is a military veteran who has served in Kuwait, and had prior arrests for robbery and burglary. Philadelphia police officials said they received a "screaming call" around 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, and were met by a woman who said she was McCaulla's ex-girlfriend, when they arrived. McCaulla, who was in the bathtub, was transported to the hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was pronounced dead, police said. "Rather go out in the hands of myself than another man," McCaulla wrote in the suicide note posted at 5:06 p.m.
NY TIMES He called himself “Sir” in Arabic and Spanish on his MySpace page. He expressed love for his daughter and his younger sister. He said he had been robbed at gunpoint, and had struggled to find work. But in the note he left before committing suicide, Sirmone McCaulla, 28, also conceded that he could have walked away after bumping into a stranger in Midtown Manhattan on Sunday. Instead, as Mr. McCaulla admitted in the note, he fatally stabbed the stranger, Christopher Gutierrez, 20, after Mr. Gutierrez began spoiling for a fight. “I’m a fool for not walking off,” he said. The details of Mr. McCaulla’s life — and the possible reasons for the violence of his final days — began to emerge on Wednesday after the police in Philadelphia found his body on Tuesday in an apartment rented by a former girlfriend. He killed himself just hours after he was named by the New York police as the suspect in the fatal stabbing, the police said. He was found in the bathtub with a bag over his head, clutching electronic equipment. Jeff Moran, a spokesman for the Philadelphia medical examiner, said there was no ruling yet on the precise cause of death. It was a final chapter to the deadly encounter, which began when the two men bumped into each other in front of the James A. Farley Post Office at Eighth Avenue and 33rd Street in broad daylight. They walked a few more paces past each other, then turned around, taking fighting stances, the police have said. Mr. McCaulla then stabbed Mr. Gutierrez four times with a knife. In his suicide note, Mr. McCaulla painted a picture of his life, suggesting reasons why he failed to turn the other cheek. Mr. McCaulla said he was quick to defend himself because had been attacked on the streets before. In 1999, he was cut with a razor in what appeared to be a gang fight, according to news reports. Mr. McCaulla wrote that his encounter with Mr. Gutierrez escalated when Mr. Gutierrez became hostile. “He came back towards me and took off his jacket and put his hands up,” he wrote. “I started to get defensive. I told the man, ‘Keep it moving. No problems.’ ” Seconds later, Mr. Gutierrez fell to the ground, mortally wounded. “Not gonna lie,” Mr. McCaulla wrote. “Did not mean to kill him. Just wanted to stop the threat.” He hinted at a feeling of resignation, fearing that he would be unable to find work if he was convicted of the stabbing. He also explained why he chose suicide. “Rather go out in the hands of myself than another man,” he wrote. On Wednesday, members of two families were in mourning. “We are suffering now,” said a man who identified himself as Mr. McCaulla’s uncle, reached at his home by phone. “I just hope that people learn how to get along better in this world.” Referring to Mr. Gutierrez’s relatives, the uncle said, “And our family is really sorry for what happened to their son.” In their apartment on Avenue D in Manhattan, Edith Gutierrez, Mr. Gutierrez’s mother, said, “I send my condolences to his family — I wouldn’t wish the way I feel today on any mother in this world.” Referring to Mr. McCaulla, she said: “I don’t hate him. I just don’t forgive him.” Francis Rivera, 22, Mr. Gutierrez’s brother, said he did not understand Mr. McCaulla’s note. “ ‘He came up to me first so I had to stab him’ is just crazy, it makes no sense,” Mr. Rivera said. In the note, Mr. McCaulla said he would continue to watch over his 3-year-old daughter, who a relative said had already asked, “Is my daddy dead?” While Mr. McCaulla’s emotional life was expressed in the note, other events in his life were spelled out in court papers and in videos on his MySpace page. There were brushes with the law and service in the military. He spent time in the Army in Kuwait, family members said, and referred to it as a “sandbox” on MySpace. One relative said that Mr. McCaulla had returned from military service sullen and silent. In what was perhaps a reflection of his stint in the Middle East, he posted on his MySpace profile the words “Nam Sidi” an Arabic phrase that translates to “yes sir,” alongside a similar phrase in Spanish. An Army Reserve spokesman, Capt. Kevin McNamara, said Mr. McCaulla held the rank of specialist in the Reserves and had been assigned to postal duties in Queens starting in April. He said officials were unable to confirm overseas service but were examining records to determine where he had served. Mr. McCaulla had worked as a deliveryman for FedEx in the Bronx, but lost the job after he was charged with possession of stolen property in April. A court date had been scheduled for Oct. 8. In 2007, he passed an exam to be a New York City correction officer, but withdrew in April, just before a background check would have begun, a Correction Department spokesman said.
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