She Told Her Mother She Was “Doing Fine.” Days Later, Erin Piacenti Was Dead in Times Square

Pamela Cisneros’ family says she appeared stable shortly before the random Times Square stabbing that killed 32-year-old Bank of America executive Erin Piacenti. Now, investigators and relatives are trying to understand what changed.

Just days before Erin Piacenti was fatally stabbed in the middle of Times Square, Pamela Cisneros reportedly appeared to be doing well.

That is one of the details that has made the Aug. 31 attack particularly difficult for Cisneros’ family to comprehend.

Cisneros, 49, had a long history of mental-health problems, according to relatives and police records. Her family said she had been receiving treatment and regular medication injections and had seemed considerably more stable in recent years.

Her father told ABC7NY that he had seen her the week before the attack and that she appeared fine. He also said she was not a violent person.

Her brother Patrick Peralta similarly described a woman who, despite years of struggles, had seemed to be doing better.

Then came the attack.

Within minutes, a seemingly ordinary afternoon in Manhattan turned deadly. Piacenti, a 32-year-old new mother and Bank of America vice president, was stabbed while returning home from her first day back at work following maternity leave. A 68-year-old man was also attacked and survived.

Cisneros was subsequently confronted by NYPD officers and fatally shot after police said she refused repeated commands to drop two knives and advanced toward officers.

The central question now is not simply what happened in Times Square.

It is what changed beforehand.

A family that thought Cisneros was doing better

According to relatives, Cisneros’ mental-health struggles were not new.

Her brother told The New York Post that she had dealt with serious mental-health problems for years but had appeared more stable during the previous several years while receiving treatment. He said she had never been aggressive in his experience.

Her father provided a similar account.

Mario Cisneros told ABC7NY that his daughter had been receiving monthly medication injections for a mental-health condition. He said he had seen her approximately a week before the attack and believed she appeared fine.

That detail has become particularly striking because it places the apparent change relatively close to the attack itself.

The family had apparently become concerned when Cisneros failed to appear at one of their regular gatherings. According to Gothamist, relatives had grown accustomed to seeing her regularly for meals, but she did not show up the previous week.

Instead of immediately assuming the worst, however, family members reportedly remained in contact with her.

The picture they received was not necessarily one of an imminent crisis.

It was a woman telling them she was okay.

Then came the Times Square attack

The violence unfolded shortly after 4 p.m. on Aug. 31 near Seventh Avenue and West 42nd Street.

According to police and subsequent reporting, Cisneros was carrying two large knives when she allegedly attacked a 68-year-old man.

She then allegedly attacked Piacenti.

The 32-year-old Bank of America executive was rushed to Bellevue Hospital but died from her injuries.

The other victim survived and was reported to be in stable condition.

The randomness of the attack has added another layer of mystery.

Authorities have said there was no indication that the stabbing was terrorism-related. There has also been no publicly established relationship between Cisneros and either victim.

For Piacenti’s family, the circumstances are especially painful.

She had recently become a mother and had just returned to work after maternity leave.

According to People, she was heading home after her first day back when she was attacked. She and her husband, Frank, had also recently celebrated their second wedding anniversary and purchased a home in Chester, New Jersey.

Her five-month-old daughter, Madison, is now at the center of the family’s grief.

The final days are drawing intense attention

The apparent contrast between Cisneros’ behavior shortly before the attack and what happened in Times Square has become one of the most closely examined elements of the case.

Her father said she appeared fine when he saw her the previous week.

Her brother described her as having been stable for several years.

Family members reportedly remained in contact with her.

Yet within days, police were confronting her in one of the world’s busiest public spaces as she allegedly held two knives.

That timeline naturally raises questions about whether there were warning signs that were not recognized at the time.

But there is currently no evidence showing that the family knew an attack was imminent.

Nor is there evidence establishing a single event that suddenly triggered Cisneros’ behavior.

The medication question

Another major question concerns Cisneros’ treatment.

Her father and brother have both discussed her receiving regular medication injections. Her brother previously suggested that a disruption in treatment might have played a role in her deterioration.

That possibility has received considerable attention because it offers a potential explanation for the dramatic change relatives say they observed.

But it remains a theory, not an established cause.

Authorities have not publicly confirmed that Cisneros missed a particular injection immediately before the attack.

They have also not publicly identified the medication involved or released medical records demonstrating a connection between treatment changes and the violence.

That distinction is important.

A person’s mental-health history can provide context without automatically explaining a particular act of violence.

At this stage, investigators still have to determine whether there was a treatment disruption, a change in behavior, another personal crisis or some combination of factors.

Her history was more complicated than one phone call

Cisneros’ family has described years of mental-health difficulties.

Police have also confirmed previous mental-health-related encounters involving Cisneros, including incidents several years before the Times Square attack. She did not have a prior NYPD arrest record, according to reporting based on police information.

Her brother has spoken about possible bipolar disorder, although the exact diagnosis has not been publicly established through medical records.

Reports have also described previous struggles involving her family, employment and personal life.

But none of those details independently explains what happened on Aug. 31.

Indeed, one of the most striking elements of the story is that Cisneros’ difficulties appear to have existed alongside periods when she was functioning normally.

She had pursued higher education, reportedly earning a master’s degree in psychology.

She had also worked for an attorney specializing in immigration matters, according to her brother.

That background has made the case even more difficult for people attempting to understand it.

Who was Erin Piacenti?

While attention has understandably focused on Cisneros and the unanswered questions surrounding the attack, Piacenti’s story has also emerged in the days since her death.

She was a lawyer and Bank of America vice president who had built a successful professional career.

She was also a wife and mother.

Her family has described her as loving and deeply devoted to her five-month-old daughter.

People reported that Piacenti had recently returned from maternity leave and was beginning to settle back into professional life.

Her death therefore came at a moment that should have marked a new chapter in her family’s life.

Instead, her husband is now raising their daughter without her.

Bank of America and Fordham Law School, where Piacenti studied and met her husband, have both expressed grief over her death.

What happened when police confronted Cisneros?

After the two stabbings, police located Cisneros near the Times Square area.

She was reportedly still carrying the knives.

Officers ordered her to drop them, but police said she refused and threatened officers.

They attempted to use Tasers before ultimately opening fire when she advanced toward them while armed, according to authorities and eyewitness accounts.

Cisneros was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where she later died.

The NYPD’s Force Investigation Division is examining the police shooting.

That means there are effectively two separate investigations surrounding the incident: the circumstances that led to the stabbing and the circumstances surrounding the officers’ use of deadly force.

Why the “doing fine” detail matters

The phrase may sound insignificant.

People tell their parents they are fine every day.

But in this case, that ordinary reassurance has taken on a different meaning after the fact.

Cisneros’ family is now trying to reconcile the woman they believed was improving with the person police encountered in Times Square.

Her father said she appeared fine only about a week before the attack.

Her brother said she had been doing well for years.

And yet the family also noticed that she had recently missed a regular gathering, according to Gothamist.

None of these facts proves that a crisis was developing.

But together, they create a timeline investigators will likely examine closely.

When did her behavior begin to change?

Did she continue receiving treatment?

Did she experience a new personal crisis?

Did anyone observe behavior that, in hindsight, might have appeared unusual?

And was there anything that could have prevented the tragedy?

The danger of finding an answer too quickly

The case has already produced intense discussion online and across news platforms.

Some reactions have focused on mental health. Others have concentrated on public safety, police response or the vulnerability of pedestrians in crowded areas such as Times Square.

The emotional reaction is understandable.

But the investigation is still developing, and several of the most dramatic theories circulating around the case remain unverified.

In particular, the suggestion that a missed medication dose directly caused the attack should not be treated as established fact.

The available evidence supports a narrower conclusion: Cisneros had a long history of mental-health problems, her family said she had been receiving ongoing treatment, and relatives believed she had been doing better before the attack.

What happened between that period of apparent stability and the violence in Times Square remains unclear.

What comes next

Investigators will likely continue reconstructing Cisneros’ movements and communications in the days before the attack while examining her background and the circumstances surrounding the stabbing.

Her medical and treatment history could become relevant if investigators are able to establish what, if anything, changed before Aug. 31.

Meanwhile, Piacenti’s family is beginning the painful process of mourning a woman whose life was cut short just as she was starting a new chapter as a mother.

The tragedy has left two very different families searching for answers.

One is asking how their daughter, sister and mother could have reached such a devastating point.

The other is asking how a seemingly ordinary trip home from work ended with a young mother never reaching her family.

For now, there is no single answer.

But the timeline — particularly the days between the family’s last sense that Pamela Cisneros was doing well and the moment she allegedly attacked strangers in Times Square — may become one of the most important pieces of the investigation.

And that is why the seemingly simple reassurance that she was “doing fine” has become one of the most haunting details of the case.