Man arrested in death of Ozone Park spiritual leader
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Jason Liriano was arrested and charged in the death of Rita Persaud, a local leader who died after being hit by a driver in December 2020. Photo by Renee K Productions
By Jacob Kaye
Pandit Manoj Jadubans, the spiritual leader of Shaanti Bhavan Mandir in Ozone Park, got a notification from his phone on Thursday reminding him of some old photos.
The pictures were of Ritawantee “Rita” Persaud, a leader in the local Hindu community who was killed by a driver in a hit and run on Christmas Eve last year.
A few hours after getting the notification, Jadubans got word that the driver suspected of killing Persaud had been arrested.
“It’s bringing back a lot of memories again,” Jadubans said. “It’s just like this thing happened yesterday.”
Jason Liriano, a 23-year-old man from Brooklyn, was arrested and charged with criminally negligent homicide and other charges in the death of Persaud on Thursday, Sept. 24, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced.
Liriano was allegedly driving down 103rd Avenue in Ozone Park on Dec. 24, 2020, when he slammed into an Uber driver and Persaud, the driver’s passenger.
Liriano, who had two passengers in his car, ran away with one of the passengers – the other, who was injured, stayed behind.
Persaud and the Uber driver were rushed to a nearby hospital. The driver suffered trauma to his head and body but survived. Persaud was pronounced dead at the hospital.
The 54-year-old Persaud had a profound and lasting impact on her community, both locally and globally, several of her students and colleagues told the Eagle.
A lover of music, Persaud taught singing, religion and culture to countless students in the local Hindu community and at Shaanti Bhavan Mandir, a local temple.
Multiple former students of hers called Persaud a “second mother” and recounted her ability to bring the best out in people.
“She taught us how to be a good person, a good human being and to give back to the community,” said Sandhya Singh, an 18-year-old who took lessons with Persaud for nearly half of her life. “I can’t believe that someone I knew for so long, that made such an impact on my life, is actually gone.”
Immediately following her death, members of the temple rallied to call on law enforcement to apprehend and bring the perpetrator to justice.
Aminta Kilawan-Narine helped to organize the rallies and told the Eagle that despite knowing the complexities of a case where the alleged perpetrator flees the crime scene, she wanted answers immediately.
“It's hard to be patient when somebody of such stature, or somebody who's impacted so many lives, somebody's loss of life has left so many people heartbroken,” Kilawan-Narine said. “Yes, somebody has been arrested, but that doesn't bring her back.”
Kristine Heeralall, a 19-year-old who lived a block away from Persaud, said that while she was shocked when she first heard the news of her former teacher’s death, she felt a sense of calm when she heard the news of Liriano’s arrest.
“I felt relieved that the person was caught,” Heeralall said. “He’s off the roads, which will hopefully prevent anything else like this from happening.”
Kevin Heeralall, a 28-year-old former student of Persaud’s and Kristine’s brother, said that he still thinks of his teacher every time he sings in the temple, something she made him feel confident enough to do.
“One thing she always told us was to follow that love for music, and that’s what we all try to do,” he said.
If convicted, Liriano faces up to 7 years in prison, a number that in some ways angers Persaud’s loved ones.
“For any life, that feels like a short amount of time, but especially because this is someone who is so close to our community, it feels like it’s not justice,” Kilawan-Narine said.
Kevin Heeralall noted that Liriano will likely get out sometime in his early 30s if convicted.
“The guy has his full life ahead of him, but we’re still left with our void,” he said.
