Bronx man accused of stabbing teen to death refused treatment despite pleas, family says

The Bronx man accused by police of stabbing a 14-year-old to death in an unprovoked attack suffered from schizophrenia and refused attempts to get him necessary medication and hospitalization, according to the man's stepbrother.

Bronx resident Waldo Mejia, 29, pleaded not guilty to murder, manslaughter and weapons possession charges in connection to the death of Caleb Rijos, who died Friday after he was stabbed twice in the chest on his way to school, according to authorities. Mejia also pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and assault for another slashing in the Bronx on Jan. 5, officials said.

His attorney did not return a request for comment.

"It's devastating, this is awful," stepbrother Giomo Mejia said in a phone interview on Monday. " The person that was following up on his case, they were like, ‘We can't commit him against his will,’ because he needed to be committed, to get his medication.”

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said on Saturday that Mejia had a history of mental health interactions with police.

“The systems that we have in place to deal with repeat offenders and individuals with severe mental health issues continue to fail us,” she said.

Giomi Mejia said his stepbrother has suffered from schizophrenia since earning an associate's degree in psychology.

In 2015, his family found a gun in his room and alerted police, the stepbrother said. Police and prosecutors charged Waldo Mejia with weapons possession.

Giomi Mejia said his stepbrother was only “fine” after being incarcerated for the 2015 weapons charge and receiving treatment. But in 2019, Giomi Mejia said his stepbrother stopped taking his medication and started a fire in the lobby of his ex-girlfriend's apartment.

" I would say, ‘Listen. You need to take your medicine. You need to follow up with your provider,’” Giomi Mejia said. "But he didn’t listen to me."

He said his mother, who speaks Spanish, made repeated calls for treatment for her son, but was unsuccessful.

“ Maybe the language barrier, but her cry didn't – nobody followed up,” he said.

It was not immediately clear what attempts were made to check in with Waldo Mejia. Calls to his previous defense attorney were not returned.

The NYPD referred questions to the courts, which did not return messages. Requests for comment from the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene were not returned.

Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said Waldo Mejia was referred to mental health treatment as a condition of release for the 2019 arson charge.

According to his neighbors, Waldo Mejia had few interactions with people and had lived there for just over a year. One neighbor, who asked not to be named due to safety concerns, showed Gothamist footage of Mejia damaging his doorbell camera.

“I saw him twice,” said the building’s super, Freddy Gonzalez. “His uncle said that he needed to take medication.”

Douglas Stern, a lawyer specializing in mental health issues, said it’s difficult for families, attorneys and prosecutors to compel mental health care for unwilling individuals.

“We have this very long-standing, comprehensive set of legislation, which is very protective of a person’s liberty,” he said.

Stern said current law aimed at getting treatment requires individuals to show signs of being a danger to themselves or others.

He said what happens most often for people like Waldo Mejia is they remain hospitalized for only a few days before being released.

“There is no mechanism for treatment in the community that’s mandatory,” he said. “It’s just this revolving door.”

At the urging of Mayor Eric Adams, Gov. Kathy Hochul has said she plans to change state law to make it easier for local jurisdictions to involuntarily hospitalize people in need of mental health care.

This story has been updated with comment from Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark’s office.