HER MARRIAGE TOOK YEARS TO END — THEN PAMELA CISNEROS WALKED INTO TIMES SQUARE

Pamela Cisneros’ marriage did not collapse overnight.

The relationship had already begun falling apart years before the divorce was officially finalized — and according to court records and accounts from her family, those years were marked by growing personal, financial and family difficulties.

Then came the shocking events of August 31, 2026.

Pamela, 49, was identified by police as the woman who allegedly attacked two strangers in New York’s Times Square, killing Bank of America executive Erin Piacenti, 32, and injuring another man.

Cisneros was later shot by police after officers said she refused to drop two large knives and moved toward them.

But long before that afternoon in Manhattan, her family says Pamela had been struggling.

A MARRIAGE THAT TOOK YEARS TO END

Court records show that Pamela’s former husband, Jose A. Lopez, filed for divorce in Florida in 2020 after their relationship had deteriorated.

The legal battle did not end quickly.

The divorce was ultimately finalized in 2025 — meaning the process stretched across roughly five years after the filing.

By then, Pamela’s life had changed dramatically.

Her family has described years of difficulties involving her mental health, work and relationships with her children.

Reports also indicate that her three daughters eventually lived separately from her, with the family becoming increasingly estranged.

SHE WAS STILL TRYING TO BUILD A LIFE

Despite those struggles, Pamela was not simply defined by the problems surrounding her.

She had studied psychology and earned a master’s degree.

She also worked at an immigration law firm and, according to her family, had periods when she appeared to be doing much better.

Her brother Patrick Peralta told the New York Post that Pamela had experienced serious mental-health problems for years but had appeared relatively stable while receiving treatment.

That is one of the most striking parts of the story.

People close to her reportedly did not see her as someone who was constantly violent or dangerous.

In fact, her brother said he had never known her to be violent.

HER FAMILY HAD SEEN WARNING SIGNS BEFORE

Pamela’s struggles were not entirely new.

Her family has described previous mental-health crises, including incidents involving police in 2018 and 2019.

Her brother has also said she had previously experienced postpartum depression and was later believed to have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

However, the exact medical diagnosis has not been independently established in public records.

Her father, Mario Cisneros, said Pamela had been receiving treatment and regular medication injections and appeared to have been stable for a period of time.

That history is now being examined in the aftermath of the Times Square attack.

But it is important to separate the known facts from speculation.

There is currently no established finding that a change in medication, her divorce or her family problems caused what happened in Times Square.

THEN CAME AUGUST 31

On August 31, Pamela allegedly approached strangers in one of the busiest places in New York City.

Police said she was carrying two large knives.

A 68-year-old man was allegedly attacked first.

Then Pamela allegedly attacked Erin Piacenti.

Piacenti, 32, was a Bank of America vice president and lawyer who had only recently returned to work after maternity leave.

She had also recently celebrated her second wedding anniversary and purchased a home in New Jersey with her husband.

She was taken to Bellevue Hospital but died from her injuries.

The other victim survived.

Police later confronted Pamela.

Officers said she refused to surrender the knives and moved toward them. After other less-lethal efforts failed to stop her, two officers fired their service weapons.

Pamela was pronounced dead.

A FAMILY LEFT TRYING TO UNDERSTAND

Now, the years between Pamela’s collapsing marriage and the final moments of her life are coming under renewed scrutiny.

Her divorce.

Her separation from her children.

Her struggles with employment and family life.

Her documented mental-health history.

And the period when relatives believed she had finally become stable.

Those pieces form a complicated timeline — but they do not yet provide a simple explanation for the tragedy that unfolded in Times Square.

What happened inside Pamela’s life during those final months remains one of the questions investigators and her family are still trying to understand.

And for Erin Piacenti’s family, there is an even more painful reality.

A young mother had gone to work.

She had just returned from maternity leave.

And she never made it home to her husband and five-month-old daughter.

**The marriage ended after years of legal battles.

Pamela’s family had watched her struggle for years.

But nothing about that history can explain away what happened next.

And now, the final chapter of Pamela Cisneros’ life is being pieced together against the backdrop of a tragedy that claimed the life of a woman who had simply been walking through Times Square.**