On Thursday, a daughter stabbed her father in a Brooklyn apartment. Nikki Secondino, the 22-year-old suspect, initially tried to cover the incident by claiming a “robbery” had taken place.
Nikki called emergency to come to her place on 17th Avenue in Bensonhurst, claiming that she, her 19-year-old sister Liana, and her father, Carlo Secondino, were assaulted and stabbed by robbers.
Officers answered Nikki’s call at 6 a.m. and found her father stabbed to death. Officers later found Nikki’s sister, who had also been stabbed, in critical condition and rushed her to the Maimonides Medical Center.
Nikki also showed slash wounds on her hands to back her story about the home invasion to the police.
When asked about the robbery, Nikki said that there were two men forcing their way into the house. However, the police could not find any sign of it and started to be suspicious.
After further investigation, the police found that Nikki made up the robbery and assaults. This caused them to suspect Nikki as the culprit who tried to cover up her crime.
Hours after the incident and investigations, police arrested Nikki for attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
Neighbor testimony
A neighbor, Susie Lew, revealed that she heard a loud sound knocking on her door early Thursday morning. She later found that it was Nikki who was knocking on the door and seeking help.
“I was woken up. It sounded like body wrestling going on inside the apartment, like two people fighting,” Lew said.
Lew explained that Nikki was crying with her hand full of blood. Nikki then begged her to call the police.
“Her bloody fingerprints are all over my door from when she was banging on the door, hoping I would open it. And then, when she stopped the banging and I didn’t hear any more movement in the hallway, I slowly opened my door and heard the father yell my name out, ‘Susie, call the cops!’,” Lew said.
Then, the 61-year-old woman went to the apartment and saw Carlo’s body sprawling on the kitchen floor.
“He was lying on the kitchen floor, blood all over his chest, completely saturated and red. He was just laying there not moving,” Lew said.
Lew later saw Nikki making a phone call in the hallway. She heard that Nikki was claiming her family had been robbed and stabbed.
“I saw the blood in the hallway, and that’s when I got shaken up and closed my door,” Lew said, revealing her attempt to stay safe from the attackers. However, nothing happened.
“I just felt like, when she was banging on my door when I opened up the door, why didn’t those intruders try to come and attack me?”
Secondino family’s conflict
Investigators are currently tracing the family history, trying to find traces of family conflicts that might have been the reason for the murders. For a start, there were several reports of domestic violence against Carlo.
Before Carlo’s death, police were called to Secondino’s house due to family conflict several times this year. First, on July 15, the dad was accused of threatening to kill Lilia. Then, another report was received by police on September 19, when Carlo slapped Nikki.
Yadira Gomez, co-owner of Mike’s Diner where Carlo works, revealed that he was often distracted by “family issues.” Gomez also explained that Carlo always hides his problems.
“I know that there were always fights. He was always working here all day, but during the day, he would always say, ‘she’s crazy, she’s got some issues, problems, she doesn’t want to work’,” Gomez said.