STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — During a court appearance this week for Damien Hurstel, his attorneys cited concerns about his level of treatment on Rikers Island.
Hurstel — who is accused of killing and then decapitating his mother’s live-in boyfriend last year in the family’s West Brighton home — has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, the defense has noted previously in court proceedings.
“Judge, he tells us he’s only sporadically been getting his meds,” defense attorney Mark Fonte said Tuesday in state Supreme Court, St. George.
“When he’s not on the medication, he’s hallucinating and he’s hearing voices,” Fonte continued, as members of the defendant’s family looked on from the gallery.
Currently, Hurstel, 19, is being held in a medical wing of the facility in connection with the Oct. 7 slaying, per the orders of Justice Alexander B. Jeong.
Rikers Island, in front of the New York City skyline, is seen in this June 12, 2014 photo.AP
A spokesperson for the city’s Department of Correction referred questions about the defense’s claims to the Correctional Health Services, a division of NYC Health + Hospitals. The health agency did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Jeong ordered that the defendant’s file reflect his concerns, and suggested the word “medication” be marked with a star. “We’ll put it on his card and if it continues we’ll contact Rikers,” said Jeong, who adjourned the proceedings to April 7.
The defense’s request came weeks after Fonte told the court his client was being properly medicated and seemed more coherent, which appeared to be the case during that Jan. 15 appearance.
On Tuesday, Hurstel appeared unemotional as he was brought into the courtroom. He had a wide smile on his face as he was escorted out by officers.
Family members, including his mother and uncle, have attended his court appearances regularly, while advocating for improved mental health treatment and legislation in the U.S. His family was in attendance Tuesday as well.
A gruesome scene
Crime scene investigators were called to the family’s home on Cary Avenue on the evening of Oct. 6, 2025, for a report of a man’s deceased body in a bathtub. (Advance/SILive.com | Scott Axelrod)
The alleged murder was preceded by a verbal dispute between Hurstel and the victim, Anthony Casalaspro, 45, inside the home.
Hurstel told police investigators he struck Casalaspro with a meat tenderizer, stabbed him multiple times and then dragged his body into the bathtub where he removed his head, according to court documents.
Authorities said Hurstel then employed the use of a saw, a hammer, a pair of bolt cutters and a large soup spoon.
The hammer, according to a law enforcement source, was used to gain access to the victim’s brain. The spoon, they said, was used in an attempt to scoop out brain matter.
A photo of the crime scene mysteriously wound up being shared across Staten Island and beyond, the Advance/SILive.com previously reported.
According to friends and family of the victim, Anthony Casalaspro, he was helping raise the defendant and his sister. Facebook image
Casalaspro was a Department of Sanitation mechanic.
In the days that followed his death, family and friends described him as a good person who helped raise the defendant and his sister.
In the hours after the slaying, dozens of the victim’s friends and family expressed disbelief and offered condolences.
“I’m so sorry for what happened to you brother,” wrote one man. “I spoke to you a little over a month ago, little did I know it would be our last conversation.”
“I’m at a loss for words, I pray you get justice!” the post continued. “Until we meet again, fly high! I will never forget all the great times we had, I love you brother!“
Another man wrote, simply: “Dam Ant, SIP homie.”
Disputes at the home
Law enforcement sources noted prior domestic-related responses at the family’s home in recent years.
According to Hurstel’s family, the issues revolved around his mental illness and the medications he was supposed to take.
Hurstel’s mother told the New York Post that in one instance last year, on her birthday, Hurstel became physical with her after she asked him to clean up the kitchen.
Struggles with healthcare regiment
Fonte said recently that prior to his client turning 18, the family was on top of him about his medications, doctor visits and hospitalizations, “as any caring family would be.”
But when Hurstel reached adulthood, doctors were not legally allowed to speak to the family about his treatment and had to rely solely on the patient, in terms of consistency with the medication and accurate feedback about their effectiveness.
“That’s when things started to go haywire,” said Fonte. “Arguments ensued with respect to, ‘did you take your medication? what medication are you on?’”
To which the defendant would often reply: “None of your business, I’m an adult now.”
Speaking generally about mental health in America, Fonte said that based on his own experience in the court system, it is an issue that requires more attention and more resources.
“There is a mental health crisis raging that needs to be addressed and addressed quickly,” said Fonte. “I’m in favor of limited government, but if government is going to allocate resources, they need to allocate resources to the mental health crisis.”
“,”type”:”facebook-video”,”version”:”1.0″,”width”:500,”_id”:”https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1784600592176914″,”locale”:”en_US”},”referent”:{“id”:”https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1784600592176914″,”provider”:”https://graph.facebook.com/v8.0/oembed_video?url=”,”referent_properties”:{“locale”:”en_US”},”service”:”oembed”,”type”:”facebook-video”}},{“_id”:”2GS2IZIJFBC5VLUD73QG47NPM4″,”additional_properties”:{},”content”:”“That’s when things started to go haywire,” said Fonte. “Arguments ensued with respect to, ‘did you take your medication? what medication are you on?’””,”type”:”text”},{“_id”:”3BXF4WOJ7NEADL5ICTRZOROORE”,”additional_properties”:{},”content”:”To which the defendant would often reply: “None of your business, I’m an adult now.””,”type”:”text”},{“_id”:”DRAWXW3XVBECBAXNHNJQCYMS4U”,”additional_properties”:{},”content”:”Speaking generally about mental health in America, Fonte said that based on his own experience in the court system, it is an issue that requires more attention and more resources.”,”type”:”text”},{“_id”:”HIWVHCSG6BCCZPWIA242IZ3364″,”additional_properties”:{},”content”:”“There is a mental health crisis raging that needs to be addressed and addressed quickly,” said Fonte. “I’m in favor of limited government, but if government is going to allocate resources, they need to allocate resources to the mental health crisis.””,”type”:”text”},{“_id”:”S5P5M4GFNBA7DCGRBTT5NKO4DQ”,”content”:””,”type”:”raw_html”}],”created_date”:”2026-02-11T13:19:53.871Z”,”credits”:{“by”:[{“_id”:”klaws”,”type”:”author”,”version”:”0.5.8″,”name”:”Kyle Lawson”,”social_links”:[{“site”:”email”,”url”:”Klawson@siadvance.com”},{“site”:”facebook”,”url”:”https://www.facebook.com/statenislandadvance”}],”socialLinks”:[{“site”:”email”,”url”:”Klawson@siadvance.com”,”deprecated”:true,”deprecation_msg”:”Please use social_links.”},{“site”:”facebook”,”url”:”https://www.facebook.com/statenislandadvance”,”deprecated”:true,”deprecation_msg”:”Please use social_links.”}],”additional_properties”:{“original”:{“_id”:”klaws”,”status”:true,”byline”:”Kyle Lawson | klawson@siadvance.com”,”facebook”:”https://www.facebook.com/statenislandadvance”,”email”:”Klawson@siadvance.com”,”mt_author_id”:”12582757″,”books”:[],”podcasts”:[],”education”:[],”awards”:[],”last_updated_date”:”2019-07-30T18:53:23.527Z”,”firstName”:”Kyle”,”lastName”:”Lawson”}}}]},”description”:{“basic”:”Damien Hurstel, 19, is being held in a medical wing of the facility in connection with the Oct. 7 slaying.”},”display_date”:”2026-02-11T18:06:43.563Z”,”distributor”:{“category”:”staff”,”name”:”advancelocal”,”subcategory”:””},”first_publish_date”:”2026-02-11T18:06:43.563Z”,”headlines”:{“basic”:”Suspect in Staten Island decapitation murder tells lawyers he’s hallucinating on Rikers Island”,”meta_title”:””,”mobile”:””,”native”:””,”print”:””,”tablet”:””,”web”:””},”last_updated_date”:”2026-02-11T18:07:27.056Z”,”owner”:{“id”:”advancelocal”,”sponsored”:false},”planning”:{“story_length”:{“character_count_actual”:4899,”inch_count_actual”:6,”line_count_actual”:39,”word_count_actual”:813}},”promo_items”:{“basic”:{“_id”:”2H46N5JRK5CZ7KPX37WSJN2R7I”,”additional_properties”:{“fullSizeResizeUrl”:”/resizer/v2/2H46N5JRK5CZ7KPX37WSJN2R7I.JPG?auth=6e47d5ac5e5b663a6132f99c71ef4bfc30b999111068413646e0140e8cdb146e”,”galleries”:[],”ingestionMethod”:”manual”,”iptc_job_identifier”:”MERe831b476a47baa28af85de4a47eda”,”iptc_source”:”Staten Island Advance”,”mime_type”:”image/jpeg”,”originalName”:”NWS HURSTEL.JPG”,”originalUrl”:”https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/advancelocal/2H46N5JRK5CZ7KPX37WSJN2R7I.JPG”,”proxyUrl”:”/resizer/v2/2H46N5JRK5CZ7KPX37WSJN2R7I.JPG?auth=6e47d5ac5e5b663a6132f99c71ef4bfc30b999111068413646e0140e8cdb146e”,”published”:true,”resizeUrl”:”/resizer/v2/2H46N5JRK5CZ7KPX37WSJN2R7I.JPG?auth=6e47d5ac5e5b663a6132f99c71ef4bfc30b999111068413646e0140e8cdb146e”,”restricted”:false,”takenOn”:”2025-10-17T00:00:00Z”,”thumbnailResizeUrl”:”/resizer/v2/2H46N5JRK5CZ7KPX37WSJN2R7I.JPG?auth=6e47d5ac5e5b663a6132f99c71ef4bfc30b999111068413646e0140e8cdb146e&width=300″,”usage_instructions”:”NO SALES, ONLINES OUT, TV OUT, MAGS OUT, NYC OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT”,”version”:0,”template_id”:7},”address”:{},”auth”:{“1″:”6e47d5ac5e5b663a6132f99c71ef4bfc30b999111068413646e0140e8cdb146e”},”caption”:”Damien Hurstel, 19, was arraigned Friday in state Supreme Court, St. George, after being indicted by a grand jury on murder charges in the Oct. 6 death of his mother’s live-in boyfriend.”,”created_date”:”2025-10-17T18:52:49Z”,”credits”:{“affiliation”:[{“name”:”(Advance/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)”,”type”:”author”}],”by”:[{“_id”:”jsomma”,”type”:”author”,”version”:”0.5.8″,”name”:”Jan Somma-Hammel”,”image”:{“url”:”https://s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/advancelocal/52458a90-d262-41bc-9da4-81def5aa4a1a.png”,”version”:”0.5.8″},”description”:”Jan covers all assets of the community. She has been in her role as photographer for over 30 years at the Staten Island Advance. The early morning shift allows her to get a head start on the spot news of the day and continues with community events throughout the day. \nJan attended the College of Staten Island. “,”social_links”:[{“site”:”email”,”url”:”somma@siadvance.com”}],”socialLinks”:[{“site”:”email”,”url”:”somma@siadvance.com”,”deprecated”:true,”deprecation_msg”:”Please use social_links.”}],”additional_properties”:{“original”:{“_id”:”jsomma”,”status”:true,”byline”:”Jan Somma-Hammel | jsomma@siadvance.com”,”firstName”:”Jan”,”lastName”:”Somma-Hammel”,”education”:[{“name”:”College of Staten Island”}],”mt_author_id”:”4866″,”podcasts”:[],”last_updated_date”:”2023-04-17T20:19:48.758Z”,”books”:[],”awards”:[{“name”:”Front Page Award, News Woman’s Club, AP, “}],”email”:”somma@siadvance.com”,”image”:”https://s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/advancelocal/52458a90-d262-41bc-9da4-81def5aa4a1a.png”,”role”:”Sr. Photographer/ Videographer”,”expertise”:”Spot news and youth activities.”,”bio”:”Jan covers all assets of the community. She has been in her role as photographer for over 30 years at the Staten Island Advance. The early morning shift allows her to get a head start on the spot news of the day and continues with community events throughout the day. \nJan attended the College of Staten Island. “,”longBio”:””,”languages”:”English”,”beat”:”All “,”author_type”:”Staff”}}}]},”height”:3370,”image_type”:”photograph”,”last_updated_date”:”2025-10-17T18:52:49Z”,”licensable”:false,”owner”:{“id”:”advancelocal”,”sponsored”:false},”slug”:”NWS HURSTEL”,”source”:{“additional_properties”:{“editor”:”photo center”},”edit_url”:””,”system”:”photo center”},”subtitle”:”Damien Hurstel”,”taxonomy”:{“associated_tasks”:[]},”type”:”image”,”url”:”https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/advancelocal/2H46N5JRK5CZ7KPX37WSJN2R7I.JPG”,”version”:”0.10.9″,”width”:4490,”syndication”:{},”creditIPTC”:”(Advance/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)”,”resized_urls”:{“large”:”https://www.silive.com/resizer/v2/2H46N5JRK5CZ7KPX37WSJN2R7I.JPG?auth=6e47d5ac5e5b663a6132f99c71ef4bfc30b999111068413646e0140e8cdb146e&width=1280&smart=true&quality=90″,”medium”:”https://www.silive.com/resizer/v2/2H46N5JRK5CZ7KPX37WSJN2R7I.JPG?auth=6e47d5ac5e5b663a6132f99c71ef4bfc30b999111068413646e0140e8cdb146e&width=800&smart=true&quality=90″,”small”:”https://www.silive.com/resizer/v2/2H46N5JRK5CZ7KPX37WSJN2R7I.JPG?auth=6e47d5ac5e5b663a6132f99c71ef4bfc30b999111068413646e0140e8cdb146e&width=500&smart=true&quality=90″,”x_small”:”https://www.silive.com/resizer/v2/2H46N5JRK5CZ7KPX37WSJN2R7I.JPG?auth=6e47d5ac5e5b663a6132f99c71ef4bfc30b999111068413646e0140e8cdb146e&width=180&smart=true&quality=90″}}},”publish_date”:”2026-02-11T18:06:43.563Z”,”related_content”:{“basic”:[],”clonedChildren”:[],”clonedFromParent”:[]},”revision”:{“branch”:”default”,”editions”:[“default”],”parent_id”:”UKUXENA4OFA63CAEVGFM77Y7XM”,”published”:true,”revision_id”:”RAH4GYCGLNGZTMOK7L6E3AV63Y”},”source”:{“name”:”advancelocal”,”source_type”:”staff”,”system”:”composer”},”subtype”:”article”,”taxonomy”:{“categories”:[{“_id”:”286″,”classifier”:”iab_content_taxonomy”,”name”:”Medical Health”,”score”:1},{“_id”:”286.287.301″,”classifier”:”iab_content_taxonomy”,”name”:”Medical Health>Diseases and Conditions>Mental Health”,”score”:0.8365},{“_id”:”383″,”classifier”:”iab_content_taxonomy”,”name”:”Law”,”score”:0.773},{“_id”:”52″,”classifier”:”iab_content_taxonomy”,”name”:”Business and Finance”,”score”:0.6367},{“_id”:”52.90.100″,”classifier”:”iab_content_taxonomy”,”name”:”Business and Finance>Industries>Legal Services Industry”,”score”:0.6152},{“_id”:”380″,”classifier”:”iab_content_taxonomy”,”name”:”Crime”,”score”:0.5399},{“_id”:”v9i3On.XtODT3″,”classifier”:”iab_content_taxonomy”,”name”:”Sensitive Topics>Crime & Harmful Acts to Individuals, Society & Human Right Violations”,”score”:0.5399},{“_id”:”52.53″,”classifier”:”iab_content_taxonomy”,”name”:”Business and Finance>Business”,”score”:0.4829},{“_id”:”163.171″,”classifier”:”iab_content_taxonomy”,”name”:”Personal Celebrations & Life Events>Funeral”,”score”:0.4619},{“_id”:”186″,”classifier”:”iab_content_taxonomy”,”name”:”Family and Relationships”,”score”:0.449},{“_id”:”52.90.97″,”classifier”:”iab_content_taxonomy”,”name”:”Business and Finance>Industries>Healthcare Industry”,”score”:0.4348},{“_id”:”163″,”classifier”:”iab_content_taxonomy”,”name”:”Personal Celebrations & Life Events”,”score”:0.4337},{“_id”:”v9i3On.I4GWl6″,”classifier”:”iab_content_taxonomy”,”name”:”Sensitive Topics>Death, Injury, or Military Conflict”,”score”:0.4302},{“_id”:”286.287.310″,”classifier”:”iab_content_taxonomy”,”name”:”Medical Health>Diseases and Conditions>Sleep Disorders”,”score”:0.3499},{“_id”:”v9i3On.XtODT3″,”classifier”:”iab_content_taxonomy”,”name”:”Sensitive Topics>Crime & Harmful Acts to Individuals, Society & Human Right Violations”,”score”:0.882},{“_id”:”v9i3On.I4GWl6″,”classifier”:”iab_content_taxonomy”,”name”:”Sensitive Topics>Death, Injury, or Military Conflict”,”score”:0.882},{“_id”:”v9i3On.Z7rJBM”,”classifier”:”iab_content_taxonomy”,”name”:”Sensitive Topics>Debated Sensitive Social Issues”,”score”:0.3719},{“_id”:”cat0216″,”classifier”:”advancelocal_custom_categories”,”name”:”Emirates Blocklist”},{“_id”:”cat0215″,”classifier”:”advancelocal_custom_categories”,”name”:”MMCDA Blocklist”},{“_id”:”cat0184″,”classifier”:”advancelocal_custom_categories”,”name”:”Vyvanse | Blocklist “},{“_id”:”cat0011″,”classifier”:”advancelocal_custom_categories”,”name”:”Negative News”}],”content_topics”:[{“_id”:”Q317309″,”label”:”Mental health”,”score”:1},{“_id”:”Q120119″,”label”:”Rikers Island”,”score”:1},{“_id”:”Q41487″,”label”:”Court”,”score”:0.9104},{“_id”:”Q1054088″,”label”:”Auditory hallucination”,”score”:0.91},{“_id”:”Q7486603″,”label”:”Health”,”score”:0.8677},{“_id”:”Q4026563″,”label”:”Law”,”score”:0.8581},{“_id”:”Q7216532″,”label”:”Justice”,”score”:0.81},{“_id”:”Q7090668″,”label”:”Social issues”,”score”:0.7767},{“_id”:”Q6478924″,”label”:”Crime”,”score”:0.7283},{“_id”:”Q6902639″,”label”:”Mental disorders”,”score”:0.7081},{“_id”:”Q7006672″,”label”:”Criminal law”,”score”:0.7001},{“_id”:”Q939726″,”label”:”Courtroom”,”score”:0.6692},{“_id”:”Q41112″,”label”:”Schizophrenia”,”score”:0.6578},{“_id”:”Q8427970″,”label”:”Criminal justice”,”score”:0.6279},{“_id”:”Q6920062″,”label”:”Public law”,”score”:0.6116},{“_id”:”Q4103183″,”label”:”Politics”,”score”:0.6109},{“_id”:”Q130741″,”label”:”Hallucination”,”score”:0.6109},{“_id”:”Q80994″,”label”:”Adult”,”score”:0.6065},{“_id”:”Q7023064″,”label”:”Crimes”,”score”:0.5922},{“_id”:”Q35535″,”label”:”Police”,”score”:0.5761},{“_id”:”Q6234158″,”label”:”Abnormal psychology”,”score”:0.5663},{“_id”:”Q7235789″,”label”:”Issues in ethics”,”score”:0.5606},{“_id”:”Q12140″,”label”:”Medication”,”score”:0.5572},{“_id”:”Q25325792″,”label”:”Human diseases and disorders”,”score”:0.5458},{“_id”:”Q16917″,”label”:”Hospital”,”score”:0.5384},{“_id”:”Q19280201″,”label”:”Misconduct”,”score”:0.5336},{“_id”:”Q8979144″,”label”:”Law enforcement”,”score”:0.5222},{“_id”:”Q7138872″,”label”:”Behavioural sciences”,”score”:0.5075},{“_id”:”Q7023066″,”label”:”Disability”,”score”:0.5056},{“_id”:”Q7215431″,”label”:”Diseases and disorders”,”score”:0.5005},{“_id”:”Q1360677″,”label”:”Crime scene”,”score”:0.4587},{“_id”:”Q14916851″,”label”:”Clinical medicine”,”score”:0.4511},{“_id”:”Q16533″,”label”:”Judge”,”score”:0.4356},{“_id”:”Q6501338″,”label”:”Attention”,”score”:0.4356},{“_id”:”Q1983760″,”label”:”Psychology”,”score”:0.4346},{“_id”:”Q131755″,”label”:”Bipolar disorder”,”score”:0.4338},{“_id”:”Q4095812″,”label”:”Medicine”,”score”:0.4316},{“_id”:”Q132821″,”label”:”Murder”,”score”:0.4281},{“_id”:”Q181600″,”label”:”Patient”,”score”:0.4268},{“_id”:”Q7023068″,”label”:”Violence”,”score”:0.4163},{“_id”:”Q9205879″,”label”:”Public sphere”,”score”:0.4029},{“_id”:”Q7158637″,”label”:”Human rights”,”score”:0.3999},{“_id”:”Q7141244″,”label”:”Society of the United States”,”score”:0.3933},{“_id”:”Q40348″,”label”:”Lawyer”,”score”:0.3925},{“_id”:”Q2629503″,”label”:”Supreme Court of California”,”score”:0.3881},{“_id”:”Q8218801″,”label”:”Abuse”,”score”:0.382},{“_id”:”Q18432″,”label”:”Staten Island”,”score”:0.3803},{“_id”:”Q7986057″,”label”:”West New Brighton, Staten Island”,”score”:0.3677},{“_id”:”Q1073″,”label”:”Brain”,”score”:0.354},{“_id”:”Q8569740″,”label”:”Injustice”,”score”:0.3509},{“_id”:”Q7013226″,”label”:”NYC Health + Hospitals”,”score”:0.3484},{“_id”:”Q54070″,”label”:”Government”,”score”:0.3344},{“_id”:”Q211374″,”label”:”New York Post”,”score”:0.3341},{“_id”:”Q12135″,”label”:”Mental disorder”,”score”:0.3217},{“_id”:”Q8586628″,”label”:”Legal action”,”score”:0.3151},{“_id”:”Q7352099″,”label”:”Aggression”,”score”:0.3135},{“_id”:”Q30″,”label”:”United States”,”score”:0.313},{“_id”:”Q8015130″,”label”:”Psychological concepts”,”score”:0.3117},{“_id”:”Q6734171″,”label”:”Politics of the United States”,”score”:0.3076},{“_id”:”Q7038604″,”label”:”Social policy”,”score”:0.3042},{“_id”:”Q949149″,”label”:”Sanitation”,”score”:0.3022}],”entities”:[{“_id”:”Q1054088″,”label”:”Auditory hallucination”,”score”:0.5747,”type”:”Disease”},{“_id”:”Q120119″,”label”:”Rikers Island”,”score”:0.4841,”type”:”Place,ProtectedArea,PopulatedPlace,Island”},{“_id”:”Q41112″,”label”:”Schizophrenia”,”score”:0.4154,”type”:”Disease”},{“_id”:”Q130741″,”label”:”Hallucination”,”score”:0.3858,”type”:”Disease”},{“custom_id”:”PER6a82fd7ea”,”label”:”Mark Fonte”,”type”:”Person”},{“custom_id”:”PERd714587b1″,”label”:”Alexander B. Jeong”,”type”:”Person”},{“custom_id”:”PER5da0c8d1f”,”label”:”Damien Hurstel”,”type”:”Person”},{“custom_id”:”PERae91ee67e”,”label”:”Anthony Casalaspro”,”type”:”Person”},{“custom_id”:”PLA45903cbf3″,”label”:”St. George”,”type”:”Place”},{“custom_id”:”COM0ad1401a6″,”label”:”Correctional Health Services”,”type”:”Company”},{“custom_id”:”COM34e0e0135″,”label”:”Department of Correction”,”type”:”Company”},{“custom_id”:”PER74e3ac735″,”label”:”Dam Ant”,”type”:”Person”}],”primary_section”:{“_id”:”/crime-safety”,”_website”:”silive”,”type”:”section”,”version”:”0.6.0″,”name”:”Crime & Safety”,”description”:”Breaking news about crime, crashes, and emergency situations on Staten Island, New York. Find NYPD and FDNY news, most wanted criminals, and more at SILive.com.”,”path”:”/crime-safety”,”parent_id”:”/”,”parent”:{“default”:”/”},”additional_properties”:{“original”:{“_id”:”/crime-safety”,”_admin”:{“commercial_node”:null,”url_path”:”https://www.silive.com/crime-safety/”,”alias_ids”:[“/crime-safety”],”tracking_node”:null,”default_content”:null},”site”:{“site_description”:”Breaking news about crime, crashes, and emergency situations on Staten Island, New York. Find NYPD and FDNY news, most wanted criminals, and more at SILive.com.”,”site_section”:”News”,”headline”:”Staten Island Crime & Safety News”,”site_keywords”:”staten island crime, new york crime, staten island murders, staten island robberies, crime news, police news”,”site_title”:”Staten Island Crime & Safety News”},”navigation”:{“is_this_a_link_or_a_section”:”Both”,”nav_display”:null,”nav_title”:”Crime & Safety”},”name”:”Crime & Safety”,”_website”:”silive”,”parent”:{“default”:”/”,”ellipsis”:”/”,”hamburger-menu”:null,”toprail”:”/news”,”native-app-news”:”/”,”subnav-news”:”/”},”ancestors”:{“default”:[],”ellipsis”:[“/”],”hamburger-menu”:[],”toprail”:[“/news”,”/”],”native-app-news”:[“/”],”subnav-news”:[“/”]},”inactive”:false,”node_type”:”section”,”order”:{“ellipsis”:1023,”toprail”:2001,”native-app-news”:1003,”subnav-news”:1001}}}},”sections”:[{“_id”:”/crime-safety”,”_website”:”silive”,”type”:”section”,”version”:”0.6.0″,”name”:”Crime & Safety”,”description”:”Breaking news about crime, crashes, and emergency situations on Staten Island, New York. Find NYPD and FDNY news, most wanted criminals, and more at SILive.com.”,”path”:”/crime-safety”,”parent_id”:”/”,”parent”:{“default”:”/”},”additional_properties”:{“original”:{“_id”:”/crime-safety”,”_admin”:{“commercial_node”:null,”url_path”:”https://www.silive.com/crime-safety/”,”alias_ids”:[“/crime-safety”],”tracking_node”:null,”default_content”:null},”site”:{“site_description”:”Breaking news about crime, crashes, and emergency situations on Staten Island, New York. Find NYPD and FDNY news, most wanted criminals, and more at SILive.com.”,”site_section”:”News”,”headline”:”Staten Island Crime & Safety News”,”site_keywords”:”staten island crime, new york crime, staten island murders, staten island robberies, crime news, police news”,”site_title”:”Staten Island Crime & Safety News”},”navigation”:{“is_this_a_link_or_a_section”:”Both”,”nav_display”:null,”nav_title”:”Crime & Safety”},”name”:”Crime & Safety”,”_website”:”silive”,”parent”:{“default”:”/”,”ellipsis”:”/”,”hamburger-menu”:null,”toprail”:”/news”,”native-app-news”:”/”,”subnav-news”:”/”},”ancestors”:{“default”:[],”ellipsis”:[“/”],”hamburger-menu”:[],”toprail”:[“/news”,”/”],”native-app-news”:[“/”],”subnav-news”:[“/”]},”inactive”:false,”node_type”:”section”,”order”:{“ellipsis”:1023,”toprail”:2001,”native-app-news”:1003,”subnav-news”:1001}}},”_website_section_id”:”silive./crime-safety”},{“_id”:”/news”,”_website”:”silive”,”type”:”section”,”version”:”0.6.0″,”name”:”News”,”description”:”Get Staten Island, NY latest news. Find photos and videos, comment on the news, and join the forum discussions at silive.com”,”path”:”/news”,”parent_id”:”/”,”parent”:{“default”:”/”},”additional_properties”:{“original”:{“_id”:”/news”,”site”:{“site_description”:”Get Staten Island, NY latest news. Find photos and videos, comment on the news, and join the forum discussions at silive.com”,”site_keywords”:”Staten Island NY news, New York news, New York local news, New York breaking news, latest news, local news, breaking news”,”site_title”:”Staten Island, NY Local News”,”headline”:”Staten Island Real-Time News”,”site_section”:”News”},”_admin”:{“default_content”:null,”alias_ids”:[“/news”],”tracking_node”:null,”commercial_node”:null,”url_path”:”https://www.silive.com/news/”},”navigation”:{“nav_title”:”News”,”nav_display”:”true”,”is_this_a_link_or_a_section”:”Both”},”_website”:”silive”,”name”:”News”,”order”:{“default”:1001,”toprail”:1001,”ellipsis”:1024,”native-app-news”:1001,”photocenter”:1001},”parent”:{“default”:”/”,”toprail”:”/”,”ellipsis”:”/”,”native-app-news”:”/”,”hamburger-menu”:null,”photocenter”:”/”,”subnav-crime”:null},”ancestors”:{“default”:[],”toprail”:[“/”],”ellipsis”:[“/”],”native-app-news”:[“/”],”hamburger-menu”:[],”photocenter”:[“/”],”subnav-crime”:[]},”inactive”:false,”node_type”:”section”}},”_website_section_id”:”silive./news”}],”tags”:[{“_id”:”1770815985649″,”description”:”@si-river”,”slug”:”si-river”,”text”:”@si-river”},{“_id”:”1770815987501″,”description”:”@local-news”,”slug”:”local-news”,”text”:”@local-news”},{“_id”:”1770815989973″,”description”:”crime-safety”,”slug”:”crime-safety”,”text”:”crime-safety”},{“_id”:”1770815990941″,”description”:”courts”,”slug”:”courts”,”text”:”courts”},{“_id”:”1770815992092″,”description”:”sndsi”,”slug”:”sndsi”,”text”:”sndsi”}]},”type”:”story”,”version”:”0.10.11″,”websites”:{“silive”:{“website_section”:{“_id”:”/crime-safety”,”_website”:”silive”,”type”:”section”,”version”:”0.6.0″,”name”:”Crime & Safety”,”description”:”Breaking news about crime, crashes, and emergency situations on Staten Island, New York. Find NYPD and FDNY news, most wanted criminals, and more at SILive.com.”,”path”:”/crime-safety”,”parent_id”:”/”,”parent”:{“default”:”/”},”additional_properties”:{“original”:{“_id”:”/crime-safety”,”_admin”:{“commercial_node”:null,”url_path”:”https://www.silive.com/crime-safety/”,”alias_ids”:[“/crime-safety”],”tracking_node”:null,”default_content”:null},”site”:{“site_description”:”Breaking news about crime, crashes, and emergency situations on Staten Island, New York. Find NYPD and FDNY news, most wanted criminals, and more at SILive.com.”,”site_section”:”News”,”headline”:”Staten Island Crime & Safety News”,”site_keywords”:”staten island crime, new york crime, staten island murders, staten island robberies, crime news, police news”,”site_title”:”Staten Island Crime & Safety News”},”navigation”:{“is_this_a_link_or_a_section”:”Both”,”nav_display”:null,”nav_title”:”Crime & Safety”},”name”:”Crime & Safety”,”_website”:”silive”,”parent”:{“default”:”/”,”ellipsis”:”/”,”hamburger-menu”:null,”toprail”:”/news”,”native-app-news”:”/”,”subnav-news”:”/”},”ancestors”:{“default”:[],”ellipsis”:[“/”],”hamburger-menu”:[],”toprail”:[“/news”,”/”],”native-app-news”:[“/”],”subnav-news”:[“/”]},”inactive”:false,”node_type”:”section”,”order”:{“ellipsis”:1023,”toprail”:2001,”native-app-news”:1003,”subnav-news”:1001}}},”_website_section_id”:”silive./crime-safety”},”website_url”:”/crime-safety/2026/02/suspect-in-staten-island-decapitation-murder-tells-lawyers-hes-hallucinating-on-rikers-island.html”}},”workflow”:{“status_code”:1},”canonical_url”:”/crime-safety/2026/02/suspect-in-staten-island-decapitation-murder-tells-lawyers-hes-hallucinating-on-rikers-island.html”,”publishing”:{“scheduled_operations”:{“publish_edition”:[],”unpublish_edition”:[]}},”website”:”silive”,”website_url”:”/crime-safety/2026/02/suspect-in-staten-island-decapitation-murder-tells-lawyers-hes-hallucinating-on-rikers-island.html”,”multimedia_main”:{“_id”:”2H46N5JRK5CZ7KPX37WSJN2R7I”,”additional_properties”:{“fullSizeResizeUrl”:”/resizer/v2/2H46N5JRK5CZ7KPX37WSJN2R7I.JPG?auth=6e47d5ac5e5b663a6132f99c71ef4bfc30b999111068413646e0140e8cdb146e”,”galleries”:[],”ingestionMethod”:”manual”,”iptc_job_identifier”:”MERe831b476a47baa28af85de4a47eda”,”iptc_source”:”Staten Island Advance”,”mime_type”:”image/jpeg”,”originalName”:”NWS HURSTEL.JPG”,”originalUrl”:”https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/advancelocal/2H46N5JRK5CZ7KPX37WSJN2R7I.JPG”,”proxyUrl”:”/resizer/v2/2H46N5JRK5CZ7KPX37WSJN2R7I.JPG?auth=6e47d5ac5e5b663a6132f99c71ef4bfc30b999111068413646e0140e8cdb146e”,”published”:true,”resizeUrl”:”/resizer/v2/2H46N5JRK5CZ7KPX37WSJN2R7I.JPG?auth=6e47d5ac5e5b663a6132f99c71ef4bfc30b999111068413646e0140e8cdb146e”,”restricted”:false,”takenOn”:”2025-10-17T00:00:00Z”,”thumbnailResizeUrl”:”/resizer/v2/2H46N5JRK5CZ7KPX37WSJN2R7I.JPG?auth=6e47d5ac5e5b663a6132f99c71ef4bfc30b999111068413646e0140e8cdb146e&width=300″,”usage_instructions”:”NO SALES, ONLINES OUT, TV OUT, MAGS OUT, NYC OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT”,”version”:0,”template_id”:7,”alt_text”:””,”link”:””},”address”:{},”auth”:{“1″:”6e47d5ac5e5b663a6132f99c71ef4bfc30b999111068413646e0140e8cdb146e”},”caption”:”Damien Hurstel, 19, is arraigned in this October 2025 photo in state Supreme Court, St. George, after being indicted by a grand jury in the murder of his mother’s live-in boyfriend. “,”created_date”:”2025-10-17T18:52:49Z”,”credits”:{“affiliation”:[{“name”:”(Advance/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)”,”type”:”author”}],”by”:[{“_id”:”jsomma”,”type”:”author”,”version”:”0.5.8″,”name”:”Jan Somma-Hammel”,”image”:{“url”:”https://s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/advancelocal/52458a90-d262-41bc-9da4-81def5aa4a1a.png”,”version”:”0.5.8″},”description”:”Jan covers all assets of the community. She has been in her role as photographer for over 30 years at the Staten Island Advance. The early morning shift allows her to get a head start on the spot news of the day and continues with community events throughout the day. \nJan attended the College of Staten Island. “,”social_links”:[{“site”:”email”,”url”:”somma@siadvance.com”}],”socialLinks”:[{“site”:”email”,”url”:”somma@siadvance.com”,”deprecated”:true,”deprecation_msg”:”Please use social_links.”}],”additional_properties”:{“original”:{“_id”:”jsomma”,”status”:true,”byline”:”Jan Somma-Hammel | jsomma@siadvance.com”,”firstName”:”Jan”,”lastName”:”Somma-Hammel”,”education”:[{“name”:”College of Staten Island”}],”mt_author_id”:”4866″,”podcasts”:[],”last_updated_date”:”2023-04-17T20:19:48.758Z”,”books”:[],”awards”:[{“name”:”Front Page Award, News Woman’s Club, AP, “}],”email”:”somma@siadvance.com”,”image”:”https://s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/advancelocal/52458a90-d262-41bc-9da4-81def5aa4a1a.png”,”role”:”Sr. Photographer/ Videographer”,”expertise”:”Spot news and youth activities.”,”bio”:”Jan covers all assets of the community. She has been in her role as photographer for over 30 years at the Staten Island Advance. The early morning shift allows her to get a head start on the spot news of the day and continues with community events throughout the day. \nJan attended the College of Staten Island. “,”longBio”:””,”languages”:”English”,”beat”:”All “,”author_type”:”Staff”}}}]},”height”:3370,”image_type”:”photograph”,”last_updated_date”:”2025-10-17T18:52:49Z”,”licensable”:false,”owner”:{“id”:”advancelocal”,”sponsored”:false},”slug”:”NWS HURSTEL”,”source”:{“additional_properties”:{“editor”:”photo center”},”edit_url”:””,”system”:”photo center”},”subtitle”:”Damien Hurstel”,”taxonomy”:{“associated_tasks”:[]},”type”:”image”,”url”:”https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/advancelocal/2H46N5JRK5CZ7KPX37WSJN2R7I.JPG”,”version”:”0.10.9″,”width”:4490,”syndication”:{},”creditIPTC”:”(Advance/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)”,”resized_urls”:{“large”:”https://www.silive.com/resizer/v2/2H46N5JRK5CZ7KPX37WSJN2R7I.JPG?auth=6e47d5ac5e5b663a6132f99c71ef4bfc30b999111068413646e0140e8cdb146e&width=1280&smart=true&quality=90″,”medium”:”https://www.silive.com/resizer/v2/2H46N5JRK5CZ7KPX37WSJN2R7I.JPG?auth=6e47d5ac5e5b663a6132f99c71ef4bfc30b999111068413646e0140e8cdb146e&width=800&smart=true&quality=90″,”small”:”https://www.silive.com/resizer/v2/2H46N5JRK5CZ7KPX37WSJN2R7I.JPG?auth=6e47d5ac5e5b663a6132f99c71ef4bfc30b999111068413646e0140e8cdb146e&width=500&smart=true&quality=90″,”x_small”:”https://www.silive.com/resizer/v2/2H46N5JRK5CZ7KPX37WSJN2R7I.JPG?auth=6e47d5ac5e5b663a6132f99c71ef4bfc30b999111068413646e0140e8cdb146e&width=180&smart=true&quality=90″}}};Fusion.globalContentConfig={“source”:”article-beta-content-api”,”query”:{“uri”:”/crime-safety/2026/02/suspect-in-staten-island-decapitation-murder-tells-lawyers-hes-hallucinating-on-rikers-island.html”,”website_url”:”/crime-safety/2026/02/suspect-in-staten-island-decapitation-murder-tells-lawyers-hes-hallucinating-on-rikers-island.html”,”type”:”elements”,”limit”:3,”arc-site”:”silive”}};Fusion.lastModified=1770836028703;Fusion.contentCache={“pennant-api”:{“undefined”:{“data”:{“piano-onoff”:true,”google-one-tap-onoff”:false,”sophi-onoff”:true,”sophi-variants-onoff”:true,”self-service”:true,”show-poll-results”:true,”subscribe-with-google-onoff”:true,”userdiagnosticsonoff”:false,”auth0-bcsessionid-onoff”:false,”trackonomics-amp-wrapper-onoff”:true,”gallery-slideshow-onoff”:true,”share-with-a-friend-onoff”:false,”widgetmaker-onoff”:true,”amp-newsletter-signup-onoff”:false,”enewspaper-toprail-button-onoff”:true,”toprail-button-marketcolor”:true,”account-landing-page-onoff”:true,”piano-datadog-onoff”:true,”exco-video-ads-in-article”:true,”recaptcha-datadog-onoff”:true,”cdpsegmentevent-datadog-onoff”:false,”related-articles”:true,”sophi-dynamic-paywall-onoff”:true,”auth0-refresh-tokens-onoff”:false,”toprail-button-text-cyber”:false,”related-articles-blueconic”:false,”sticky-toprail”:true,”subscriber-exclusive-label-onoff”:false,”newspaperscom-archives-onoff”:true,”newspaperscom-sparkle-onoff”:false,”custom-alerts-sample-button-onoff”:true,”next-best-action-interval-served-onoff”:false,”next-best-action-onoff”:true,”recommended-articles-slider”:false,”blueconic-recommendations-datadog-onoff”:true,”sidelines-promo-banner-on-off”:false,”subscriber-exclusive-onoff”:true,”live-indicator”:true,”toprail-button-text-dollar-deal”:false,”queryly-ask-onoff”:false,”affiliate-brand-label-onoff”:true,”rollcall-blueconic-segments-datadog-onoff”:false,”new-subnav-editions-onoff”:false,”exco-datadog-onoff”:false,”_id”:”8a41be5b0a24e105f008d193335bf50d4ea7dd3f882a6d3ff4518d5ba1b39250″},”expires”:1770836041202,”lastModified”:1770673088000}},”admiral-install-api”:{“{\”propertyID\”:\”A-5C9E70EBD9D905257F625AAB-11\”}”:{“data”:{“script”:”!(function(M,_name){M[_name]=M[_name]||function F(){(F.q=F.q||[]).push(arguments)},M[_name].v=M[_name].v||2,M[_name].s=\”3\”;})(window,decodeURI(decodeURI(‘%256%31%256%34mi%2572%61%256%63’)));!(function(M,F,o,K,T,d,J,H,x,Z,X,C,u,a,z,t,O,w,q,D,L,k,G,m,b){function j(o,d){navigator.onLine&&D&&(D=!1,(d=(function(M,F,o){if(!t)return!1;for(F=(M=t.getEntriesByType(\”resource\”)).length;o=M[–F];)if(!o.deliveryType&&o.transferSize>300&&o.fetchStart>O)return!0;return!1})())||(b=8),!L&&q&&(b=16),!L&&!d||(function(o,d,J){if(!/bot|spider|headlesschrome|java\\//i.test(navigator.userAgent||\”\”)&&(new(function(){o=(function h(e,t,r,n){if(!e||(function e(r,n,i,o){for(o=0;r&&o0&&(r[o+1]||[]).unshift(i),i=(n=t[r[o]])&&n(e,r[o+1]||[]);return i})(e))return r.apply(this,n||[])}([0,[[[1,[[3,[],2,[\”/digitalsubscription\”]]]],[1,[[3,[],2,[\”/insider\”]]]],[1,[[3,[],2,[\”/subscribe\”]]]],[1,[[3,[],2,[\”/supporter\”]]]],[1,[[3,[],2,[\”/contributor\”]]]],[4,[[[1,[[6,[\”%61d%256%64%25%36%32%65n%256%35%2566i%25%374%25%373\”],5,[\”\”]]]]]]],[1,[[6,[\”c%25%361%256c%65%5f%257%32e%257%33%75%6c%74%73\”],5,[\”true\”]]]]]]],[function c(e,t){for(var r=t[0]&&t[0].length>0,n=0;r&&n0,n=0;r&&n