Update: Shocking first photos of blood-covered teen in custody in Staten Island decapitation slaying >>
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A 19-year-old person of interest was being questioned by police on Tuesday morning in connection with the brutal slaying of a 45-year-old man in West Brighton.
The victim was found decapitated and a knife was recovered at the scene at a home on Cary Avenue between North Burgher Avenue and Broadway, according to a law-enforcement source.
Officers responding around 4:20 p.m. on Monday to a 911 call found the 45-year-old man with multiple stab wounds inside the home at 380 Cary Ave. EMS responded and pronounced the victim dead at the scene, according to a spokeswoman for the NYPD.
Police have not yet released the name of the victim, pending family notification.
The 45-year-old was found dead inside a bathtub in the residence, the law-enforcement source told the Advance/SILive.com.
The knife was still sticking out of his neck, the source said.
A girl living at the residence arrived home in the afternoon and discovered the gruesome scene.
She found a blood trail in the home, which led to the bathroom, the source said.
Detectives are investigating whether the fatality was domestic in nature, multiple sources told the Advance/SILive.com.
The individual being questioned is the teenage son of the victim’s girlfriend, sources said.
No charges had been filed as of Tuesday morning.
On Tuesday morning, members of the NYPD were seen standing outside the two-and-a-half-story frame home that was roped off with caution tape.
The front door of the home was open, leading to a staircase. Decorative lions graced the big front porch.
A 45-year-old man was fatally stabbed at a home at 380 Cary Ave. on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. Caution tape remains spread around the front of the house where the NYPD investigation continues on Tuesday morning.(Advance/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)Neighbors describe aftermath
Cary Avenue residents described a dramatic scene in the immediate aftermath of the stabbing.
One neighbor told the Advance/SILive.com she saw an adult woman “crying and throwing up” in the street outside the home.
“He’s dead!” the woman shouted, according to that neighbor’s account.
As first responders arrived at the scene, the neighbor said the woman told EMS personnel “the head is in the tub.”
Two other neighbors who spoke with reporters described seeing police take the person of interest into custody.
They said the young man had blood on his face and boots; one described him as being “calm and respectful” with police.
A vehicle for the medical examiner’s office is parked on Cary Avenue in West Brighton on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025.(Advance/SILive.com | Scott Axelrod)Emergency response
Detectives roped off the front porch of the home Monday night, as well as the sidewalk near the residence.
An NYPD vehicle and a Crime Scene Unit van were parked in front of the home. Officials from the medical examiner’s office were also at the location.
An investigator wearing white protective coveralls was seen on the porch inspecting the scene for evidence.
‘It’s a shock’
Another resident said he didn’t know the family well but occasionally saw a young woman and man at the residence.
He said he never saw any signs of trouble at the home.
“It’s a shock,” he told reporters.
Homicides at historic low
Staten Island has seen a historic low in homicides in 2025.
Through Sept. 28, just two were recorded in the borough.
That represents the lowest figure at this time of the year since the NYPD created its CompStat system in 1993.
Police sirens illuminate the home at 380 Cary Ave. after a man was found dead in the bathtub on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025.(Advance/SILive.com | Scott Axelrod)
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