Murder in Harlem: The Death of Nursing Student Alayna Hardy

She had a restraining order against her ex-boyfriend but that wasn’t enough to protect her

Anita Durairaj
4 min readJul 10, 2021
Alayna Hardy (Image Source: NY Daily News)

Alayna Hardy, age 27, and Fernando Munera, age 26, were neighbors who both lived in the same apartment building in East Harlem, New York. The apartment was located on E. 115th street and First Avenue in New York. Alayna lived on the top floor while Fernando lived on the first floor.

Sometime in 2020, the two neighbors who lived in the same Harlem apartment started dating each other. The relationship would turn out to be short-lived and volatile.

Fernando and Alayna had very different personalities. Alayna was friendly and described as a kind and loving person by her family. She was a nursing student at Hunter College and was planning on completing her Bachelor’s degree. She had a lot of friends and a zest for life.

On the other hand, Fernando was jealous and controlling. He displayed abusive tendencies and had started to become reliant on prescription medication and alcohol.

Fernando tried to control Alayna. He pressured her to end her relationships with her friends. He would even answer her phone and keep tabs on her wherever she went.

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