Bay Shore woman pleads guilty to manslaughter in train station stabbing of ex-boyfriend

Nikeya Barker followed Shurvell Rush through a parking lot at the Bay Shore train station before stabbing him once in the chest, prosecutors said

A Bay Shore woman admitted Monday that she fatally stabbed her ex-boyfriend near the Bay Shore train station last year.

Nikeya Barker, 46, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in the May 2025 killing of Shurvell Rush, 47, of Central Islip, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney announced. She faces up to 25 years in prison when she returns to court Jan. 11 for her sentencing.

The two had previously dated but were not in a relationship at the time of the attack, prosecutors said.

“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 admitted during her plea that she confronted Rush at the Bay Shore train station shortly after 6:30 p.m. on May 3, 2025, about an incident from their past relationship, Tierney said.

Moments later, Barker followed Rush through the station’s parking lot toward an adjacent townhouse complex while carrying a large knife, prosecutors said, before stabbing him in the parking lot on Railroad Plaza.

Surveillance video captured Barker tossing the knife into bushes just feet from the scene and running away, according to the DA’s office. Investigators later recovered the knife, and forensic testing found Barker’s DNA on it, Tierney said.

Rush was rushed to South Shore University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Barker surrendered to the Suffolk Police Homicide Squad on May 6, 2025, three days after the stabbing.

_{Top: Nikeya Barker (provided by the SCDA office).}