Former Patrolman Was Slashed With Samurai Sword
Police1 Report
A retired New York City police officer was found dead Sunday afternoon, slashed to death in his Long Island home with a Samurai sword. The man’s stepson, a high school senior, was arrested and charged with the murder.
Police were called to MacArthur Boulevard in Hauppauge, N.Y. about 1 p.m., after Laura Nager discovered her husband dead on the couch, said Suffolk homicide squad Det. Lt. Jack Fitzpatrick. She told police she thought an intruder had killed him, according to NY Newsday.
But detectives said James Gibian, 18, slashed his stepfather with one of the swords Nager had among his antique collection. Nager had been sleeping on the couch when Gibian first struck him with the 3-foot blade on his neck and cheek, Fitzpatrick said in the Newsday story. As Nager rose, Gibian delivered a second blow to the back of the neck. “That’s what killed him,” Fitzpatrick said.
Gibian was not home when police arrived, the story said, but he returned a few hours later and, after being questioned, was arrested.
According to investigators, Gibian indicated in a videotaped confession that he had planned the sword attack before the incident, possibly in response to an argument over Nader’s car. They know of no history of violence in the home, according to a New York Post story.
Nager retired in July 1996, due to a service-related injury after working as a patrolman for 16 years.