Fatal stabbing of beloved bartender Sarah McNally leaves Queens community stunned

WCBS

By Jenna DeAngelis

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    New York (WCBS/WLNY) — A Queens community is mourning the loss of a beloved bartender who was stabbed in a Maspeth pub on Saturday.

Photos of Sarah McNally with friends and an Irish blessing were added to a growing memorial outside the Irish pub where she worked and was loved by many who stopped in.

“She was always cool, down to earth. She was always life of the party,” Maspeth resident Carlos Rodriguez said.

“Very friendly person. Stop in, she’d always have good time to chat, good friend,” added resident James O’Malley.

O’Malley is among those who came by The Ceili House and was shocked to find out she was killed.

“I seen her Wednesday night and, wow, can’t believe it,” O’Malley said.

Police said they were called to the bar on Grand Avenue at around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday and found the 41-year-old stabbed in the neck, and a man with a stab wound to the back and neck.

Police sources said that man stabbed the bartender and then himself, and it appears to be domestic.

People who knew McNally told CBS New York he was her boyfriend.

“There was so many cops. Cop after cop here,” Maspeth resident Alyssa Rosselli said. “I didn’t know her, of course, but I felt very sad all these women have to deal with domestic violence.”

Sources said the man was taken into custody with self-inflicted wounds to the neck.

“We’re just shocked by the news Sarah is no longer with us. She was a staple of the bar and of Maspeth. We’d always see her,” resident Peter Cappelli said.

Regulars came by Sunday to see the bar closed and to learn the devastating news. They shared that McNally was originally from Ireland but was in Queens for years, and was always a friendly face who will be missed in the community.

“I send all my condolences and our love to her family and everyone who is gonna miss her. She was the best,” Cappelli said.

Police said the man involved remains in critical condition at the hospital.

CBS New York was told investigators are speaking with witnesses and looking for video to get to the bottom of exactly what happened.

Police have not yet identified the man or said if he will face charges.

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