A Bronx man was arrested Thursday in the death of a teenager who was stabbed and set on fire in an apartment building, police said.
Adones Betances, 22, was charged with murder and manslaughter in the slaying of Winston Ortiz, 18, according to police. Betances is in custody, police said.
The pair got into a dispute on the fifth floor of a Bronx apartment building shortly after 3 p.m. Wednesday, according to police.
During the dispute, Ortiz, of the Bronx, was stabbed three times and an accelerant was poured on him as he was lit on fire, NYPD spokesman Francis Salmon said.
His aunt Victoria Ortiz tells CNN she was told someone in the building heard his screams and poured water on his body to put out the flames.
Winston Ortiz was then taken to Harlem Hospital where he later died, police said.
“I do want to thank everyone who came forward and helped him. At least he wasn’t alone,” Ortiz said.
His aunt says she does not know why her nephew was at the building. She says she last saw him on Saturday in Virginia Beach, where he was visiting her.
He spent his time there cuddling with her dog and playing with her children, she said.
“He is the kid that everyone wishes they had. If he had stayed until the end of the summer he would still be alive,” Victoria Ortiz said.
Ortiz says her family is heartbroken and shattered by the ordeal. She says her nephew was born and raised in New York and was “a good kid that goes to church.”
His aunt says now his 17- and 11-year-old brothers will have to live without him.
CNN’s Taylor Romine contributed to this report.