Fatally Stabbed Nyack Man Remembered as Teammate, Served Time for Assault

On Franklin Street in Nyack, there is already a small memorial celebrating the short life of Wykeme Corker.

Corker, 33, was with a smashed bottle early Saturday morning in downtown Nyack. He died about one hour later at , where the Rockland County Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide. The alleged murderer, 27-year-old John Desir of Nyack, is being held without bail.

Now, flowers, photos, balloons, hand-written notes and sentimental effects—like stuffed animals—line Franklin Street, where he was stabbed. Corker graduated in 1997 and played on the Indians football team while he was a student. John Castellano, longtime Nyack football coach who recently announced he is taking a position at Don Bosco Prep, was one of many friends and teammates who made their way to the makeshift memorial this past weekend.

"He worked hard at practice and was well-liked by the team and coaching staff," Castellano recalled. "It's certainly a tough blow, especially for the group of kids that played with him in mid-90s. Anytime you lose someone that young it's difficult."

Castellano added that several old teammates have come forward to grieve. "We've all gotten together and spoke to each other," he said. "I've had a lot of guys who called me to reminisce about [Corker]."

Corker had a troubled past that included a decade behind bars, and was only recently released on parole. In 1999, Corker stabbed a Spring Valley man in the stomach and slashed his hand, almost severing his thumb. The incident took place in front of a now-defunct bar in Nyack, nearby the place Corker was fatally stabbed over ten years later.

In 2000, Corker was sentenced to 12-and-a-half years in state prison for the stabbing; he was found guilty of felonious assault, but acquitted of an attempted murder charge.

Police have been mixed in with mourners at the crime scene since the incident; on Saturday night, several officers from kept watch over Franklin Street. On Saturday morning—hours after the alleged murder—the fire department was called to the scene and ladder trucks were used to retrieve a possible murder weapon from the roof of a nearby building.

John Desir will appear in Thursday ay 9 a.m. for a preliminary hearing.