Christopher Joseph

Introduction

Christopher Joseph is a 23-year-old Bronx man who pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted murder for stabbing Kaitlynn Berman 22 times inside her Wakefield apartment in March 2025 — an attack that left her critically injured while her three-year-old daughter was in the next room — and was sentenced on November 4, 2026 to eight-and-a-half years in prison, a term so light that Berman vomited outside the courthouse after hearing it. Bronx Supreme Court Justice Timothy Lewis also ordered five years of post-release supervision and an order of protection barring Joseph from contacting Berman. Prosecutors had asked for ten years; the plea deal Joseph accepted in September produced less.

Background Information

The attack happened in March 2025 at Berman’s apartment on East 225th Street in the Wakefield section of the Bronx. Berman was pet-sitting a friend’s cat when Joseph — that friend’s boyfriend — came to pick up the animal and, by her account to News 12, invited himself inside and said his girlfriend had permitted him to have sex with her; when she refused, his mood turned. Berman described Joseph to NBC New York as an acquaintance she had been trying to get to leave her apartment. The Bronx District Attorney’s Office charged him with attempted murder and robbery after the attack.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Convicted and sentenced. Christopher Joseph admitted the March 2025 knife attack that stabbed Kaitlynn Berman 22 times and slashed her throat, pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted murder in September 2026, and was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison on November 4, 2026 — under the ten years prosecutors sought and far under the 22-years-to-life her advocates demanded.

The attack itself, according to the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, came without warning: Joseph stabbed Berman approximately 22 times in the face, neck, hands and abdomen while her three-year-old daughter was in the next room, then slashed her throat, cut her below the right eye and across the nose, and left her for dead. He stole her cellphone and $5,700 in cash before fleeing; police said the blood-soaked Joseph was apprehended at a nearby subway station shortly after the attack. Berman told CBS New York that Joseph kept stabbing her and told her to stop screaming.

The injuries put Berman in NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi for 48 days, where she underwent three surgeries and multiple blood transfusions. She was left with permanent nerve damage to both hands and the right side of her face, along with PTSD, pain and trauma, and an injury burden that NBC New York reported has limited her independence and ability to work. “The woman has PTSD. She has nerve damage on both right hand and left hand, she has pain and trauma from the right side of her face. Her life is never the same,” Berman’s advocate, Bishop Boyde Singletary, said after the sentencing.

The case then took a turn that became its own story: despite the violent allegations, Joseph was released without bail in December 2025 after his lawyer successfully moved for his release, citing court paperwork stating he was “released on his own recognizance” because “an email regarding an outstanding discovery went unanswered.” CBS New York reported he had pleaded not guilty in May 2025, and that a hearing in his case was postponed in mid-2026 due to the Bronx public defenders’ strike. He remained free until his guilty plea.

At Bronx Supreme Court on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, Berman delivered a 15-minute victim impact statement directly to Joseph, who showed little reaction. “You failed to take my life, and you won’t take away my future,” she told him, according to PIX11 and the New York Post. Asked by Judge Timothy Lewis whether he wished to speak, Joseph said “No” softly, and refused the opportunity to address the courtroom. Justice Lewis then imposed the negotiated sentence: eight-and-a-half years in prison, five years of post-release supervision, and an order of protection to follow his release. Prosecutors with the Bronx DA’s Office had requested a ten-year term; Joseph’s defense attorneys pushed for less, and the September guilty plea locked in the shorter number.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The sentence drew immediate, public outrage. Berman was so overwhelmed on hearing the term that she vomited outside the courthouse; PIX11 described her doubling over at a news conference, saying “Oh my God,” as her advisors led her to a seat. Bishop Boyde Singletary said outside the courthouse: “This man, this monster, Christopher Joseph, should be doing 22 years to life — one year for each stabbing. No remorse, no anything.” Pastor Cheryl Singletary, who co-pastors with him and advises Berman, said: “If we have to appeal this, we will do so, because this is no justice and no peace.”

Berman’s supporters announced plans to challenge the sentence and contact the Bronx District Attorney’s Office; advocates told NBC New York she plans to appeal and in an Instagram post Singletary wrote, in capital letters, “EIGHT YEARS IS NOT THE OUTCOME WE BELIEVE JUSTICE DEMANDS. WE WANT THIS SENTENCE CHALLENGED, REVIEWED, AND RECONSIDERED!” PIX11’s account carried the courtroom detail that Berman read her statement clearly while Joseph showed no reaction, even as she described the attack in graphic detail.

Current Status

Joseph, 23, is a convicted felon serving an eight-and-a-half-year prison sentence for second-degree attempted murder, to be followed by five years of post-release supervision; a standing order of protection bars him from contacting Berman after his release. NBC New York noted he will be about 31 when the prison term ends. The conviction is final at the trial level through his guilty plea; the contested question is the length of the sentence, which Berman’s supporters are pushing the Bronx DA’s office to challenge or reconsider. No appellate filing by the defense has been reported; Joseph himself declined to speak at sentencing and has made no public statement.

Impact on Their Career/Life

Joseph enters prison at 23 for an attack he admitted at a plea hearing, with the robbery folded into the same record through the DA’s charging. The eight-and-a-half-year term — below the ten years prosecutors sought and a fraction of the 22-years-to-life his victim’s advocates called for — means his mid-thirties release is already scheduled, and the order of protection will follow him out. For Berman, the case’s documented costs are permanent: 48 days hospitalized, three surgeries, nerve damage that limits her independence and ability to work, and a recovery she told CBS New York she is still surprised to have survived.

Sources

New York Post, “NYC mom Kaitlynn Berman vomits as ‘monster’ friend who stabbed her 22 times with young daughter nearby receives light sentence,” November 6, 2026. source
PIX11, “Woman stabbed 22 times faces attacker at sentencing she says was too light,” November 4, 2026. source
NBC New York, “Victim stabbed 22 times says 8.5-year sentence is not enough,” November 4, 2026. source
CBS New York, “Suspect in Bronx knife attack was freed due to late paperwork, victim alleges,” August 7, 2026. source