Daughter Charged With Fatally Stabbing Elderly Mother On Long Island
OCEANSIDE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A Long Island lawyer has been charged with stabbing her elderly mother to death.
The attack took place around 12:45 p.m. Monday at victim Irma Grossman's home in Oceanside, WCBS 880 Long Island Bureau Chief Mike Xirinachs reported.
Her daughter, Suzan Grossman-Kerner, 56, also of Oceanside, was taken into custody Monday night. She is charged with second-degree murder, 1010 WINS' Carol D'Auria reported.
Daughter Charged With Fatally Stabbing Elderly Mother On Long Island
Nassau County police said Tuesday at a news conference that Grossman was a "loving grandmother and neighbor." The daughter went to the mother's home on Monday, and the two argued, with Grossman-Kerner becoming enraged and attacking her mother, police said. She then called police and reported her mom had been assaulted. She was later taken into custody.
It's not clear how many times Grossman was stabbed. An autopsy was being performed. A weapon was recovered.
The argument was allegedly over Grossman-Kerner's undisclosed medical conditions, CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff reported.
Grossman-Kerner has no prior arrests and is the mother of three college-aged children. There had been no calls of domestic violence to her mother's home before the attack, police said.
Some neighbors described hearing a loud scream before Grossman, who lived alone, was found bleeding from a neck wound. She was rushed to a hospital, but died just before 3 p.m.
Grossman-Kerner was arraigned Tuesday at First District Court in Hempstead. A judge ordered the woman to be held without bail. Her lawyer's requests for stringent suicide help and immediate psychiatric care were granted.
"She does have prior psychiatric history -- very serious psychiatric history," attorney Todd Greenberg, who is representing the suspect, told WCBS 880's Sophia Hall. "And most likely that psychiatric history will enter into the defense of this action.
"Despite all this, (Grossman-Kerner is) very distraught. She's an attorney and very upset and a very decent person despite what happened here."
Sherman Kerner, the victim's son-in-law and suspect's husband, described Grossman, 79, to Xirinachs as a "wonderful grandmother," but would not comment further.
Daughter Charged With Fatally Stabbing Elderly Mother On Long Island
Neighbors on Terrell Avenue in Oceanside were in shock.
"She was very quiet, elderly, kept to herself," said Grossman's next-door neighbor Diane Matyi. "She really didn't bother anybody.
"It's really terrible to have this right next door to your house," Matyi added.
"It's a wonderful neighborhood," said Marie Sausa, who lives across the street from the crime scene. "My girls grew up here. We've been here 40 years. There's never been anything like this."
Police say they have never been called to either the mother or daughter's house for any domestic incidents.
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