Woman stabbed to death in Lower East Side was nearly decapitated: 'Her neck was cut all the way.'

BY Erik Badia, Henrick Karoliszyn and Joe Kemp

DAILY NEWS WRITERS

Originally Published:Sunday, April 10th 2011, 10:31 AM

Updated: Sunday, April 10th 2011, 9:22 PM

A 23 year-old woman was murdered in a Lower East Side apartment early Sunday - her head nearly decapitated - after a heated argument with her boyfriend, police and witnesses said.

Sarah Coit was heard arguing with her beau, Raul Barrera, 33, about 2:15 a.m., shortly before she was viciously stabbed in her third-floor Clinton St. apartment, cops and neighbors said.

"Her whole neck was cut all the way," said Briana Andalore, 20, who lives downstairs from the blood-stained apartment and saw the young woman get hauled away on a stretcher. "Her head was almost cut off."

The roars of their fighting echoed from their apartment for about 20 minutes, neighbors said.

"I heard them arguing," said Jason Figueroa, 15, who lives just above the woman's apartment.

"She was arguing with her boyfriend."

Figueroa, who appeared shaken by the inicident, said he could hear Coit, who grew up in Connecticut, being attacked, so he called the police.

"She was like 'Stop, get off of me,'" he said.

"And she was yelling and then she just got quiet," he said, "That's when I called 9-1-1."

Authorities said they responded to a call about a woman stabbed just after 2:30 a.m. and found Coit lying in a pool of blood.

She was taken to Beth Israel Hospital, where she died over an hour later.

Barrera turned himself in after the vicious stabbing, cops said.

He was charged with second-degree murder.

Neighbors said the warring couple has lived in the third floor apartment for about two years.

They have heard the couple argue before, but it was not immediately known if police had ever been called to the residence.

jkemp@nydailynews.com

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