Mourners honor teen NJ football star stabbed to death in lower Manhattan after pre-Thanksgiving night out turned lethal
NEW YORK — The New Jersey football player fatally stabbed by a stranger in a late-night Manhattan street dispute stepped up to keep the peace and protect his older brother in the moments before his death, the victim’s father said Saturday.
Victim Rocco Rodden, 17, was “the light in the darkest room, the eye of the tiger, the life of the party, the biggest warrior and protector there was,” said devastated dad Douglas Rodden, 53, to the Daily News” … It’s a tragedy. The family is broken because, you know, he died in his brother’s arms.”
The father last spoke with his slain son a few hours before the stabbing, reminding him to be careful on his night out in the city.
Rodden, who was in the city with his older brother and sister, instead suffered a fatal 6-inch deep wound when stabbed at 1:49 a.m. on Thanksgiving after leaving a private party at the Live Ax NYC restaurant, with authorities saying the suspect and his friends were also inside before the fight erupted on the street outside.
“He was outgoing, handsome, funny,” the mourning father said. “He was just a force
Suspect Gianluca Bordone, 19, of Oyster Bay, Long Island, was arrested about a mile away after fleeing the scene in a taxi following a failed attempt to bolt aboard a party bus, officials said.
“He was a great kid who lit up a room whenever he came in,” said Dan Marangi, his head coach at St. Joseph’s Regional High School in Montvale, New Jersey. “He was always welcoming and always up for a good laugh and a good time and cheering guys up. You couldn’t say a bad word about him.”
Cops said the suspect was wearing black socks and no shoes, with a blood-stained blue vest matching one caught on a video camera of the incident lying on the ground in front of him when arrested. A bloody handprint was left on a building wall near the crime scene.
“It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we share the heartbreaking news of the loss of one of our own, Rocco Rodden,” read a statement from St. Joseph’s Regional High School. “We extend our deepest condolences to Rocco’s family, friends and all who knew him.”
According to prosecutors, the 6-foot, 280-pound victim and the defendant became involved in a fight while drinking on the street outside before Bordone pulled the knife and stabbed Rodden along with his 19-year-old sibling. A criminal complaint said that video showed the suspect first swinging the knife at Rodden and then doing the same to his brother.
“This is something that was completely out of character,” said the suspect’s teary uncle to the Daily News. “It’s tragic. It’s tragic on both sides. It’s absolutely tragic.”
The victim’s best friend, Vin Ferrara, created an Instagram post honoring his slain friend.
“More than a brother to me and was family since Day One,” he wrote. “One day in another life we can look back at all of our good times together.”
Marangi said Rodden was an offensive lineman in his junior year, a team leader who made friends easily and brought quick smiles to the faces of friends and teammates. He recalled the teen’s love of the Jersey Shore and his family before recounting their last conversation shortly before the fatal stabbing.
“We were cracking jokes, laughing, and we were just talking,” the coach said. “And were just talking about things and talking about next season … We started out talking about what he needs to do next year, and then we’re laughing and joking and talking about all the good times.”
