NEW YORK – Isayah Muller had just graduated from high school, a gregarious football star on his way to a fresh start in college.
But an argument over a celebratory gift cost him his life: The 19-year-old was fatally stabbed during a fight between his father and two parking attendants he thought had stolen expensive cologne from the backseat of the family’s car.
His father was arrested on assault charges, accused of instigating the fight and hitting one of the attendants with a shovel, police say. The parking attendants were questioned by police, though it wasn’t clear if they would face charges as the investigation continued.
The family had parked the car in a Bronx parking lot Tuesday morning and walked over to nearby Lehman College, where seniors at Harry S. Truman High School were graduating. Muller was the star running back who led Truman to the Public Schools Athletic League championship this year. He was headed to Nassau Community College in the fall.
After the ceremony, the family picked up their car and headed to a celebratory meal on City Island, a fishing hamlet on the northeastern tip of the Bronx. On the way, the father, Andre Muller, noticed the cologne missing from their vehicle, turned the car around and headed back to the parking lot.
When he arrived, he started arguing with the two lot attendants and hitting one with a shovel, police said. When Isayah Muller came out to help his father, he was stabbed in the chest, police said.
The father and son raced back to the family car, where Isayah Muller’ mother and girlfriend were waiting and drove him to a clinic. The teen was later taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly before 6 p.m., police said.
