STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — After allegedly telling police he attacked and ultimately mutilated his mother’s boyfriend inside their West Brighton home, Damien Hurstel pleaded not guilty to murder charges during an arraignment hearing Tuesday in Criminal Court.
Hurstel, who appeared virtually from a hospital bed in Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton, was clad in a hospital gown and seemingly coherent through a series of “yes” or “no” questions by the court.
Judge Biju J. Koshy ordered that the defendant be remanded without bail at the request of the district attorney’s office, which he deemed “appropriate” given the severity of the charges and the circumstances surrounding the case.
In the gallery, the defendant’s mother, uncle and other immediate and extended family members looked on. They declined to comment outside the courtroom.
The proceedings were adjourned to Friday.
Judge Biju J. Koshy ordered the defendant be remanded in state custody without the option of bail during an arraignment hearing Wednesday in Staten Island Criminal Court. (Advance/SILive.com | Jason Paderon)
“(His family) were all here to love and support him,” said defense attorney Mark Fonte who was retained in the case. “They are going to be a great resource for my investigation as to his prior mental health history.”
Fonte spoke with his client for the first time Wednesday via Zoom.
“I told him right up front, ‘I don’t want to know what happened… we’re not alone; these conversations are not privileged, there’s police officers in the room.’”
In terms of his client’s detainment as the case moves forward, Fonte requested the judge order psychiatric and physical attention, in addition to suicide watch.
Koshy granted the request.
‘Long and tortured history’: Fonte
In speaking about what sources have cited as arguments within the home and reports of prior domestic incidents, Fonte said that if there were issues in was centered around his client’s “long and tortured history of mental health issues.”
“The disputes within the family all stemmed from his medical condition,” said Fonte, who rattled off multiple diagnoses including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
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,” Fonte said.
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.
Attorney Mark Fonte seated in his office on Staten Island in this Jan. 22, 2020 photo.Alexandra Salmieri
“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.”
A gruesome scene
A police investigator scans the front porch of the home on Cary Avenue in West Brighton where the alleged homicide unfolded Monday. (Advance/SILive.com | Scott Axelrod)
Police responded to a 911 call Monday at the family’s home on Cary Avenue, where the defendant lived with his mother, stepfather and sister.
His sister was the first to discover the horrific scene upon returning home from school. A crime scene photo showed the victim’s body slumped into a bathtub, his severed head placed beside him.
The defendant allegedly told police:
“We fought and I stabbed him. I carried him to the bathroom. I cut his head off and put parts of his body in the blender. I tried to clean it up.”
When Hurstel was arrested at the home, one neighbor described him as calm and courteous with police.
Victim identified by police
The victim, who was in a long term relationship with the defendant’s mother, was identified Tuesday by police as 45-year-old Anthony Casalaspro.
He was a retired Sanitation Department mechanic who graduated from McKee High School.
Friends of the victim who rushed to the scene told the New York Post he was a good person who would give “the shirt off his back.”
The morning after Casalaspro’s death, nearby neighbors recalled described seeing him on the block.
“We see him every now and then sitting on his balcony in a chair,” one said. “He kept mostly to himself.”
Defendant hospitalized twice
Immediately following his arrest, Hurstel was taken to a nearby hospital before being transported to a holding cell at the 120th Precinct stationhouse in St. George.
On Tuesday morning, he was seen being escorted out of the precinct with a bruised and bloodied face. He was placed on a stretcher and taken back to the hospital instead of the courthouse for a scheduled arraignment.
Wednesday morning, doctors had still not medically cleared the defendant for even a virtual arraignment. By about 3 p.m. though he was cleared.
There have been various accounts about his current physical condition, including one source noting a possible blood infection. It remains unclear how he became injured at the stationhouse.
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