{"id":1338,"date":"2025-10-14T11:33:26","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T11:33:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/1338\/"},"modified":"2025-10-14T11:33:26","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T11:33:26","slug":"graphic-crime-scene-photo-of-staten-island-murder-victim-circulates-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/1338\/","title":{"rendered":"Graphic crime scene photo of Staten Island murder victim circulates online"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 A grisly photo of 45-year-old Anthony Casalaspro\u2019s mutilated remains<\/a> in the bathroom of his West Brighton home has been circulating for days via digital shares. <\/p>\n

The Advance\/SILive.com has obtained the image, and a source with knowledge of the case says it is a legitimate photo from the crime scene. <\/p>\n

According to multiple sources, the photo is circulating largely via text and private messaging apps, and is being seen and shared as far from Staten Island as California. <\/p>\n

On social media, conversations about the photo disappear almost as quickly as they pop up in comment sections of Facebook and Reddit posts related to the murder. <\/p>\n

The image is a macabre tableau: it clearly captures the victim\u2019s body on his back in a bathtub between a tile wall and sliding glass shower door. <\/p>\n

To fully describe the scene in detail would be horrific to the point of indecency. Just some of what is visible is the victim\u2019s severed head, which faces away from the camera. A ladle rests on his chest while a saw lays on a bathmat beside the bathtub. <\/p>\n

Investigators believe bolt cutters, a hacksaw, a hammer, a knife, a spoon and the ladle were utilized in the commission of the murder and afterward, according to a law-enforcement source.<\/p>\n

The defendant, Damien Hurstel, told investigators that he attacked the victim with a knife and a meat tenderizer, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe fought and I stabbed him,\u201d Hurstel, the son of Casalaspro\u2019s longtime girlfriend, allegedly told police. \u201cI carried him to the bathroom. I cut his head off and put parts of his body in the blender<\/a>. I tried to clean it up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crime scene photos and the law<\/p>\n

It is unclear who took the photograph or how it was first leaked; however, in New York state it is a illegal to create and then disseminate images of victims that \u201cdepict the commission of the crime against the victim or physical injury suffered by the victim\u201d for \u201camusement, entertainment or profit\u201d and \u201cin a manner that has no or minimal cultural or social value.\u201d<\/p>\n

Signed into law in 2022, \u201cCaroline\u2019s Law\u201d makes such behavior a misdemeanor offense<\/a>. It is aimed at anyone who has access to crime scenes, including first responders and the perpetrators of crimes themselves. <\/p>\n

The legislation is named for Caroline Wimmer, a 26-year-old West Brighton woman who was murdered in her Greenleaf Avenue apartment in 2009. An EMT who responded to the scene took a photo of her body and shared it on Facebook. <\/p>\n

He was charged with official misconduct, a misdemeanor. In 2010, he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct. And as part of his plea deal, was required to perform 200 hours of community service and surrender his EMT license. He was not sentenced to any jail time.<\/p>\n

As the Advance\/SILive.com has previously reported, Caroline\u2019s Law was originally sponsored by former state Sen. Diane Savino<\/a>, who for years represented Staten Island in the legislature. <\/p>\n

\u201cI passed Caroline\u2019s Law every year for more than 10 years,\u201d Savino told the Advance\/SILive.com. \u201cThe Assembly refused to do it until 2022 when it was it was combined with another tragedy for a young woman named Bianca Devins.<\/p>\n

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the bill in late 2022. <\/p>\n

In the first degree when he or she commits the offense of unlawful dissemination of a personal image;In the second degree if also committed, participated in the commission of or conspired to commit the crime that resulted in injury to the victim;Or the victim suffered serious physical injury or death, which is depicted in the unlawfully disseminated image.<\/p>\n

Unlawful dissemination in the second degree is a class B misdemeanor; unlawful dissemination in the first degree is a class A misdemeanor and punishable by a year in jail. <\/p>\n

Doctors hold defendant in murder case<\/p>\n

In the latest developments in the case on Friday<\/a>, Hurstel remained hospitalized at Richmond University Medical Center, as prosecutors submitted an indictment on charges that include second-degree murder and concealment of a human corpse in connection with the slaying Monday.<\/p>\n

Hurstel was ordered held from appearing in the courtroom amid concerns over his psychiatric condition, according to court proceedings and sources with knowledge of the case.<\/p>\n

Family of the defendant, including his mother, uncle and cousin, have shown up to court each of the past three days in an attempt to see him.<\/p>\n

Judge Raja Rajeswari adjourned the case to Oct. 16 in state Supreme Court, St. George, in light of the grand jury indictment.<\/p>\n

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 A grisly photo of 45-year-old Anthony Casalaspro\u2019s mutilated remains in the bathroom of his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1339,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":["post-1338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1338"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1338\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}