A Long Island man returned home from a hospital stay to discover his 15-year-old son dead and his wife suffering from severe head wounds, and now his older son is under arrest, accused of attacking his mother, police said Sunday.
Charles Okonkwo Jr., 18, was arrested on an assault charge after the bloody scene was discovered Saturday in the family's Dix Hills home, Suffolk County police said. He has not been charged in the death of his brother. Police were awaiting autopsy results Monday.
At the teenager's arraignment Sunday, Assistant District Attorney Raphael Pearl said he had "made admissions to hurting" his mother and his brother, 15-year-old Bradley Okonkwo, Newsday reported.
The boys' 62-year-old father called 911 Saturday after he found his wife and son lying motionless. His wife, Chinwe Okonkwo, was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital in serious condition. Officers found the older son near his green BMW not too far from the home.
According to a criminal complaint, the mother "sustained serious trauma including facial fractures and loss of consciousness." She was found "apparently beaten in a puddle of blood near her car," Pearl said, according to Newsday.
The judge ordered a psychiatric evaluation of the teenager, whose lawyer, Eric Besso, called the case "complicated." The 18-year-old has a history of mental health issues.
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"There's a lot to be sorted out, that's all I can say," Besso said, according to Newsday.
The 18-year-old kept his head down during the arraignment and did not speak to the judge. He did not enter a plea, Newsday reported, and is being held on $1 million bond.
