A bitter custody battle turned into a heartbreaking tragedy last month when a father, simply trying to spend more time with his young daughter, was fatally stabbed on Staten Island.
Desuan Baker Dunning, 32, was killed on November 29, just after leaving a custody hearing over his 4-year-old daughter. The incident unfolded near the courthouse, where tensions spilled over between him and his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend, 29-year-old Sean Alston.
The confrontation escalated quickly, leaving Baker Dunning mortally wounded on the street, just steps away from where he had hoped to secure more visitation rights. He never got the chance to see his little girl one last time.
“He died for his daughter,” said his wife, Marcella Morton, 35, who witnessed the horrifying scene. “He loved her so much and just wanted to be a bigger part of her life. Now she’ll grow up without knowing her father’s love.”
The tragic events began after the court hearing when Baker Dunning and Morton were sitting in their car. According to Morton, Alston and Baker Dunning’s ex, Erika Rosario, pulled up alongside them. An argument broke out, and soon the two men stepped out of their cars, turning the verbal exchange into a physical fight.
Within moments, Baker Dunning collapsed, clutching a stab wound to his chest. “He got up and said, ‘I was stabbed.’ Then he just fell,” Morton recalled. “I called 911 and tried to stop the bleeding, but there was so much blood.”
First responders rushed him to Richmond University Medical Center, but he couldn’t be saved.
Alston was arrested on December 4 and now faces charges of murder, manslaughter, assault, and criminal possession of a weapon. Rosario was also taken into custody for allegedly helping Alston flee the scene. She faces charges of assault, harassment, and hindering prosecution but was later released on bail. According to Morton, Rosario, who is eight months pregnant, even swung at her during the chaos.
Morton described the terrifying aftermath of the stabbing. “After Sean stabbed my husband, he came after me. I was running, dodging traffic. I almost got hit by a car before he gave up and drove off with Rosario.”
This wasn’t Alston’s first brush with the law. He previously served six years in prison for an attempted murder charge and had only been out for less than a year before the fatal stabbing.
Baker Dunning, a Brooklyn resident who worked for the MTA, had split from Rosario in 2022. He married Morton earlier this year in January. Morton said her husband had been fighting for joint custody of his daughter, wanting a 50-50 arrangement. But Rosario made the process difficult, she claimed, and the conflict eventually led to his death.
“He just wanted to be there for his daughter,” Morton said. “He wanted to share her life, her joys, her milestones. And now she’ll never have that chance to know her dad. This didn’t have to happen. It’s so senseless.”
