A 56-year-old mother of three faces second-degree murder charges in the death of her own mother, who was found stabbed in her Long Island home after police responded to a call of an assault.
Suzan Grossman-Kerner pleaded not guilty Tuesday in the death of her 79-year-old mother, Irma Grossman, who was found stabbed in the neck in the Terrell Avenue home in Oceanside where she lived alone a day earlier.
Nassau County police say Grossman-Kerner stopped by to see her mother and the two began arguing over the daughter's medical condition, though they declined to elaborate on that condition.
They say Grossman-Kerner was the one who called 911 shortly after 1 p.m. Monday and claimed her mother had been assaulted; she was at the scene when police arrived.
The victim was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead about two hours later. A kitchen knife believed to be the murder weapon was recovered at the scene, police say.
Prosecutors say Grossman had been stabbed "multiple times" and her daughter made "statements to police" implicating herself in the stabbing.
Police say there had been no prior domestic calls to Grossman's Oceanside home and her daughter has no prior arrests.
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Grossman-Kerner's attorney, Todd Greenberg, said his client has battled psychiatric issues and it appears as if those issues played a role in the attack. He asked she be placed on suicide watch.
"She's very upset and a very decent person, despite what happened here," he said.
Grossman-Kerner, a married mother of three college-age children, was ordered held without bail. The woman she's accused of killing has been described as a "beloved grandmother," police say.
Neighbor Chyann Kelly said, "They were very friendly people -- the mother, daughter, they were very nice people."
"You don't know what goes on in people's houses. You just never know," she said.
