A Washington Heights man is in custody on murder charges after he fatally stabbed his neighbor inside an Upper Manhattan subway station, police said.
Diego Figueroa-Hepner is accused of knifing musician Johnny Medina in the 175th Street station multiple times in the neck and body, authorities said.
Medina, 40, lived across the street from Figueroa-Hepner, 24, and was a “vibrant presence” in his native Washington Heights, his “devastated” family told The Post.
He was about to board a northbound A train to see a movie with his girlfriend, who lives in Yonkers, when he was attacked.
Figueroa-Hepner was allegedly wearing a balaclava mask during the incident, a police source said.
Medina died of his injuries at Harlem Hospital, according to cops.
“He was an amazing artist, hip hop artist, lifelong hip hop fan – he was all about spreading love and light through his music…and he was very proud to represent Washington Heights,” Medina’s paternal cousin, Maximo Reves, 42, told The Post Saturday.
Medina, who went by the moniker “J McFly”, “was filled with infinite dreams and inspired us to dream big along with him,” said another cousin, Anthony Reves.
“It’s tragic his life ended at this point of his journey. His light will inspire our family forever,” added the 37-year-old.
The cousins also claimed the fateful incident wasn’t the first time Medina and Figueroa-Hepner clashed.
“I guess this guy became pretty obsessed with Johnny, and was posting pretty negative things [on social media] about Johnny…So Johnny filed a police report to complain about this guy maybe a month ago,” Maximo alleged.
A police source confirmed the pair had previously had a spat on social media, but could not immediately say whether the dispute was reported to law enforcement.
Figueroa-Hepner was arrested Saturday and charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
Additional reporting by Marie Pohl.
