A man who allegedly stabbed his own mother to death in her apartment, killed her dog after the poodle bit him and then injured himself, was taken into custody by authorities on Friday in East New York, Brooklyn.
Andre Eugene, 36, was found by NYPD officers shirtless and covered in blood in the building lobby, as stated by police.
“My mother is dead. She committed suicide,” Eugene reportedly told the police as they arrived to the scene, according to the NYPD.
Eugene allegedly stabbed his mother, Donna Hyman, many times before proceeding to knife her poodle, Gigi, in Hyman’s apartment on Hornell Loop near Pennsylvania Ave in Starrett City. Authorities have reason to believe Eugene threw Gigi off the eleventh-floor balcony, as they found the dog dead on the pavement when they arrived at the apartment building at 7 p.m. after receiving a 911 call from another resident.
The 911 call came from Hyman’s panicked sister after she received a call from Hyman who “said nothing, just kept screaming into the phone,” Officer Kenny stated.
Police discovered Donna Hyman, 58, on the 11th floor. She had been stabbed 28 times and slashed 27 more- with 26 of the slash wounds being in her head, Kenny reported. Medics pronounced her dead at the scene.
According to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny, Gigi had been stabbed nine times before being tossed from the balcony.
Eugene, who worked as a public school paraprofessional, has no prior criminal history and has been an employee at Public School 17 in Williamsburg for the past 10 years, as reported by authorities.
He was found with stab wounds in his chest, which Kenny later referred to as “hesitation wounds.”
“We believe they’re self-inflicted,” Kenny claimed about Eugene’s injuries. “His story is that the dog bit him, he stabbed the dog, [and] mom stabbed him.” Police do not believe Eugene’s account the crime.
The suspect’s father, Andre Eugene, 57, reported that his son started showing signs of unstable behavior about a week before the incident. He recalled that Eugene Jr. and his mother had a “very, very close relationship.”
“There was no indication of anything like this before,” Eugene Sr. told reporters. “That’s not like him. He wouldn’t do anything like this.”
“I wish it never happened,” he said. “I’m messed up. I wish there was something I could do.”
Eugene Jr. is in critical condition and being treated at a local hospital for several shallow stab wounds and dog bites to his thigh. Police reported that they believe his mother’s poodle bit him during the violent outbreak.
A city Education Department spokeswoman said on Wednesday that Eugene Jr. was immediately suspended from his job at the school.
As of Wednesday, he is reportedly still awaiting arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court.
