Bay Shore Woman Pleads Guilty to Manslaughter in Fatal Stabbing of Ex-Boyfriend, Faces Up to 25 Years

BAY SHORE, NY – A Bay Shore woman has pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in the fatal stabbing of her former boyfriend after prosecutors said she followed him from the Bay Shore train station while carrying a large knife and stabbed him once in the chest.

Nikeya Barker, 46, pleaded guilty Monday, Oct. 5, to Manslaughter in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony, in connection with the May 3, 2025 death of 47-year-old Shurvell Rush of Central Islip, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney.

Barker and Rush had previously dated but were no longer in a relationship at the time of the stabbing, prosecutors said.

According to court documents and Barker’s admissions during her guilty plea, she confronted Rush at the Bay Shore train station shortly after 6:30 p.m. on May 3, 2025, regarding an incident that had occurred during their former relationship.

Prosecutors said Barker then followed Rush through the train station parking lot toward an adjacent townhouse complex while carrying a large knife. She ultimately stabbed Rush in the chest in a parking lot on Railroad Plaza.

Surveillance video captured Barker discarding the knife in bushes only feet from where the stabbing occurred before fleeing the area, according to the district attorney’s office. Investigators later recovered the weapon, and forensic testing detected Barker’s DNA on the knife.

Rush was transported to South Shore University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead from the stab wound.

Barker surrendered to detectives with the Suffolk County Police Department’s Homicide Squad on May 6, 2025, three days after the killing.

“This defendant followed her ex-boyfriend from the train station through the parking lot before stabbing him once in the chest, causing his death,” Tierney said. “Mr. Rush’s life was senselessly cut short, and we hope that this conviction will bring a measure of justice to his family.”

Barker entered her guilty plea before Judge Bryan Browns on Oct. 5, 2026. She is scheduled to return to court on Jan. 11, 2027, for sentencing. Under the plea, Barker faces a prison sentence of between 15 and 25 years, according to prosecutors.

Key Facts & Details

Barker remains scheduled for sentencing in January, when the court is expected to determine where within the 15-to-25-year range her prison term will fall. The guilty plea resolves the criminal case without a trial more than a year after Rush was fatally stabbed in Bay Shore.